The four Kent Police officers injured in Sunday’s shooting and explosion along 86th Avenue South each were treated and released later on Sunday at Valley Medical Center in Renton.
The four officers plus a fifth officer also involved in the shooting death of a suspect are on paid administrative leave, standard procedure in officer-involved shootings. During the exchange of gunfire, bullets struck a large propane tank that exploded.
Richard Duncalf, 28, died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to a Tuesday report by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Duncalf was killed in the shooting behind Signature Landscaping Services, Inc., 22915 86th Ave S.
Kent Police have not yet released the names of the officers who fired shots. Police released the ages and service years for the officers:
Age 54, 29 service years; 49, 23 service years; 46, 17 service years; 40, eight service years; and 28, six service years.
“For the officers it’s a very sensitive issue,” Police Chief Ken Thomas said about when the names of the officers might be released. He said he is checking with the city attorney about public disclosure laws for when to release the names.
The Valley Investigation Team, headed by the Auburn Police, is investigating the shooting and the background of Duncalf.
The episode began around 10:45 a.m. when a police patrol was called to a report of a man having a firearm at the Howard Johnson Inn on North Central Avenue, according to Kent Police. But when contacted in the motel’s parking lot, the man hit one of the officers, brandished a firearm and fled on foot.
Officers lost sight of Duncalf as he ran between local businesses. Patrol units quickly set up a perimeter in an attempt to contain the man in the area. Businesses within the perimeter were temporarily placed on lockdown for safety purposes, police said.
After a 1½-hour search, officers spotted Duncalf running between Carpinito Brothers off Central Avenue and other businesses. They encountered the man behind the Signature Landscaping business.
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