Seattle Police have just released their first official statement about the shooting death of an officer in the Central District late last night — a crime that affects the entire city, as the first such murder in the line of duty in Seattle in 15 years, and one that drew officers (including a contingent from West Seattle’s Southwest Precinct) to the scene, where searching and blockading was followed by a somber procession earlier this morning, escorting the slain officer’s body to the Medical Examiner‘s office. Here is the entirety of the statement just published on SPDBlotter:
On October 31st, shortly after 10:00 p.m., a Field Training Officer (FTO) and his female student officer were parked in their patrol car in the 100 Block of 29th Avenue South. The student officer was seated in the driver’s seat and the FTO was in the passenger seat. A vehicle that has been described as a light-colored sedan pulled up next to the parked patrol car and the suspect(s) fired multiple shots into the patrol car. The Field Training Officer was struck multiple times, killing him. The student officer received minor injuries. She was able to get out of the patrol car, return fire several times to the fleeing suspect vehicle, and call for additional units. Officers from all precincts responded, as well as Homicide and CSI. This investigation is very much active and ongoing, and is a priority for the Department. Information is limited at this time, as it is still early in the investigation. There is a press conference tentatively scheduled for later this afternoon, where we hope to provide additional information.
Central District News, one of our fellow independent community-collaborative online news services, has been on the story all night/morning – they have even more details here, and you can watch here for updates. SUNDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: SPD will brief media at 3 pm today downtown. The acting chief, an assistant chief, and mayor will be there, according to the alert we received.
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