The Seattle Police Department is releasing video from this morning’s two officer-involved shootings.
A security guard at a downtown building called police at 2:56 AM and reported a man had brandished a handgun and fled.
Officers responded to the area and quickly found the suspect running westbound on Spring Street.
Two officers followed the suspect in their patrol car while they ordered him to drop his weapon and surrender. The officers stopped their patrol vehicle at 2nd and Spring Street and contacted the suspect, while again ordering him to drop his weapon and get down on the ground. The suspect did not comply. One officer fired several times, striking the suspect in the hand.
Police arrested the 25-year-old man, who was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Officers recovered the suspect’s weapon, which turned out to be a realistic-looking pellet gun.
At 4:45 AM, officers in the North Precinct responded to a report of a car prowl in-progress in the Maple Leaf neighborhood. Police contacted the suspect near the 1000 block of NE 98th Street and discovered he was carrying a knife. Video of the incident shows the man repeatedly refusing to follow officers’ orders to drop the weapon. Police attempted to use a Taser to disarm the man, but were unable to subdue him.
The suspect fled east and ran to NE 100th Street and Roosevelt Way NE, where officers were involved in a confrontation with the man. One of the officers fired multiple rounds, striking the suspect. Officers immediately called for Seattle Fire Department medics who took the suspect to Harborview Medical Center for treatment. Patrol car recording systems were unable to capture audio of the confrontation as the suspect led officers out of the vehicles’ signal range.
Police are still working to identify the suspect in the North Seattle incident.
The department has placed two officers on paid administrative leave per standard department policy.
Detectives from the department’s Force Investigations Team (FIT) and Crime Scene Investigators are processing evidence and reviewing statements from both incidents. Per policy, members of the Office of Professional Accountability were also on hand to observe the investigations.
The department’s Force Investigation Team is seeking photos and video from the scenes and looking to speak with anyone who witnessed either incident. Please contact investigators at (206) 684-9292 with any information.