Police fatally shot man in Tacoma who evaded arrest attempt

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Police shot and killed a person in Tacoma, Washington, early Friday morning after they fled officers in their car, KOMO News reported.

Around 3 a.m. Friday, officers were investigating a person in a parked car who they believed was wanted for unlawful possession of a firearm and illegal discharge of a weapon, Tacoma police said. The shooting occurred after the person fled in their car, police said.

No officers were injured, police said.

KOMO News reported that Sgt. Darren Moss, a spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, confirmed to the news outlet that the person who police fired at was killed.

The person killed was a 39-year-old man — the suspect police were looking for and attempting to arrest, Moss wrote in an emailed statement.

Police said they initially responded to a call about shots fired at a bar around 8 p.m. Officers identified a suspect and had probable cause to arrest him for unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful discharge of a firearm, according to a news release from the Pierce County Force Investigation Team.

The suspect fled the bar and then returned before fleeing once again, police said. At 3:05 a.m., police said they located the suspect sleeping in his car. When he fled from police once more at least one officer shot in his direction, according to the news release.

Medics were called to the scene but the man didn’t survive his injuries, the release said.

A multi-agency team that probes deadly force incidents involving police officers in Pierce County has taken over the investigation, police said. The Pierce County Force Investigation Team includes detectives and forensic investigators from law enforcement agencies throughout the county.