A Kent Police officer reportedly fired five shots that didn’t hit anybody while at the apartment door of a man wanted by Seattle Police for sexual assault.
At about 3:14 a.m. Dec. 10, the Seattle Police Department requested assistance from Kent Police to locate a 48-year-old Kent man wanted for a felony sexual assault and domestic violence assault, according to a Dec. 10 Kent Police news release. The man was believed to be in his apartment at Indigo Springs Apartments, in the 11000 block of SE 208th Street.
Multiple Kent officers were dispatched and quickly located the man’s unoccupied vehicle in the apartment parking lot, according to police.
Officers knocked on the man’s apartment door. The man reportedly quickly opened the door and pointed a handgun at the officers, according to police. One officer fired his service weapon at the suspect. The man retreated into his apartment and shut the door.
Five shots were fired by the officer, three landed in the door and two shots it is unknown where they landed, according to a Renton Police spokesperson in a Dec. 11 email. Renton Police are the lead agency for the Valley Independent Investigation Team, which is investigating the incident because it’s an officer-involved shooting. Kent Police are not part of the investigation.
The man’s mother was in the apartment during the shooting, but no shots landed near her, according to Renton Police.
Three officers reportedly were at the apartment door when the man opened it, just one fired a gun.
“The suspect opened the door pointing a handgun at officers,” according to Renton Police. “There were multiple other firearms located in the apartment during the search warrant.”
Kent officers set a protective perimeter around the unit, and Valley SWAT members were requested to respond to the scene, according to police. Officers attempted to call the suspect out of the apartment using their PA systems. He could be seen looking out at the officers but did not respond.
A short time after the PA announcements started, the man’s mother exited the apartment. She advised that her son was inside the unit alone.
Smoke was seen coming from the man’s unit, and his mother confirmed that their sprinkler system had been activated, according to police. Officers began evacuating adjacent apartments.
Puget Sound Fire responded to the scene. Fire personnel are investigating the cause of what was later determined to be a small fire in the unit, according to police.
Officers continued attempts to direct the man to exit the apartment. At 5:53 a.m., the man exited but did not comply with commands to surrender, according to police. A K-9 unit was utilized to contact the man, and he was taken into custody.
The man was not struck by gunfire, but sustained injuries from a K9 bite, according to police.
The Valley Independent Investigation Team is required to release weekly media reports about the officer-involved shooting until it reaches a conclusion and forwards a report to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which will decide whether any charges should be filed against the officer.
The Valley Independent Investigative Team is a multi-agency team of investigators from eight law enforcement agencies (Auburn, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, King County Sheriff’s Office, Renton, Port of Seattle and Tukwila).
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