A Kent Police officer is on paid administrative leave after shooting and injuring a man as the department assisted on a call with the Des Moines Police.
Kent units responded at about 4:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14 to assist with a man armed with a gun in the 27000 block of 10th Avenue South in Des Moines, according to a Feb. 14 Kent Police news release.
Initial reports stated the subject had pointed the gun at himself and family members before leaving the residence on foot. Police began searching for the subject both on foot and with a drone while deploying crisis negotiation personnel in the area, according to police.
A short time later police located a 58-year-old Des Moines man, on a nearby beach where a Kent police officer shot the subject during the encounter, according to police. First aid was immediately provided to the man by both police and medical personnel that had been staged nearby. The man was subsequently transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he is receiving care.
One officer who was on scene was injured but was not involved in the use of deadly force and was treated and released from a local hospital.
The Valley Independent Investigative Team, 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), is conducting the investigation. With Kent Police as the involved agency, its staff has been excluded from the investigation.
The involved officer will be placed on administrative leave as is standard protocol. As of Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 18, the Valley team had not released any additional information about the shooting.
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