Trooper kills man on I-5
Seattle Times staff reporter
The man, whose name was not released, died at the scene, said Trooper Cliff Pratt.
The trooper was not injured in the incident, which occurred near Federal Way. The State Patrol has asked the Federal Way Police Department to conduct the investigation.
Several people called 911 around 2:30 p.m. to report that a man had jumped out of a moving car near the onramp at South 320th Street and was “doing everything from taking his clothes off to running down the ramp and striking cars with his belt as they drove by,” said Trooper Cliff Pratt, a spokesman for the Washington State Patrol. “Once he made it onto I-5, he was laying down in traffic and running back and forth, trying to cause collisions.”
It took about 15 minutes for the State Patrol to arrive, Pratt said. The man tried to choke the trooper, and hit him repeatedly, possibly with his belt, Pratt said.
The scuffle continued after the trooper used his Taser on the suspect, Pratt said, and the trooper shot him.
The trooper, whose name was not released Tuesday, has been with the State Patrol for 11 years. He has been placed on standard administrative leave, the Federal Way Department said.
Detectives are interviewing the female driver and two juvenile passengers who had been in the car with the man.
“They, as well, had been calling 911,” said Stacy Flores, spokeswoman for the Federal Way department. “We don’t know the relationship between them.”
Passengers on a stopped bus witnessed the incident, Flores said.
Pamela Sitt: 206-464-2376 or psitt@seattletimes.com
