Auburn Police officer fatally shoots man during traffic stop

A traffic stop Jan. 15 ended with an Auburn Police officer shooting the driver and killing him.

At 1:58 a.m. Jan. 15, an officer with the Auburn Police Department was involved in a fatal shooting following a traffic stop in the 100 block of Sixth Street SE, according to a press release from APD. The department and The Valley Independent Investigation Team (VIIT) reported that officers stopped the car for a traffic violation, and during the stop, there was an altercation between the male driver and the female passenger in which a firearm was displayed.

“Our officer discharged his weapon, and the male driver is now deceased,” according to the department. “The officer was not injured.”

The VIIT and the state Office of Independent Investigation were both notified, and the VIIT is conducting the investigation with Federal Way serving as the lead agency, according to the department.

The VIIT reports that officers on-scene administered lifesaving efforts until medics arrived on scene, but the male driver was deceased. The 53-year-old deceased man’s last known address is in SeaTac. He has not been identified as of this writing.

The involved officer was placed on administrative leave as per protocol, according to VIIT. No officers were injured.

VIIT noted that information regarding any officer-involved shooting cannot be released by an independent investigation team without first notifying the non-law enforcement community representative assigned to the investigation and the family liaison of the involved subject.

Detectives from VIIT responded and are actively investigating the incident, according to the agency. The investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released as it becomes available.