By Steve Pomper
A domestic violence suspect allegedly began beating a woman in a Des Moines, WA. motel earlier in the day. The man and woman had their one-year-old baby with them. The violence continued when the man left the hotel and drove the woman and baby north to a Seattle playfield. That’s when the victim called police to report a man attacking her in the park. She said she’d gotten away, but the man had taken the baby.
On arrival, at around 2:15 in the afternoon, patrol and SWAT officers from the Seattle Police Department (SPD) saw the man was still beating the woman. The Seattle PI reported after the man shot at the woman when she ran from him, he fled on foot with the baby. Police officers pursued the man.
After searching for about half an hour, officers located the suspect who was allegedly attempting to break into a building. According to King 5 News, “Police shot the suspect and rescued the child.” Reportedly, the suspect was holding the baby when a 15-year veteran SWAT officer shot him with a rifle. An officer immediately picked up the baby who was not injured. Seattle police has released officer bodycam video footage of the incident.
Police officers performed CPR on the suspect before Seattle Fire Department medics transported him to Harborview Medical Center with “life threatening injuries.” There has been no update on the suspect’s condition. The female victim was treated for injuries she sustained during the protracted and roving assault. The King County Sheriff’s Office will conduct a review of the shooting.
The Seattle Police Officers Guild urges the public to save making any premature conclusions about the shooting before the investigation is concluded. They posted the following statement: “The officers on scene had a split-second to react to a deadly situation that threatened the life of an innocent child. We are proud of the heroism displayed by our officers who risked their lives to capture an armed felony domestic violence assault suspect.”
Now, police rescuing people is wonderful, and it’s particularly heartwarming when it involves saving a baby. But that’s not the unusual part of this story. Police rescue people from danger all the time. But this next part is unusual and refreshing to hear, especially considering who’s saying it.
The witness King 5 News interviewed is a man named Stryder Wegner. He lauded the police officers’ actions. Complimenting the police publicly may be unusual these days, particularly in a city like Seattle. But what makes this instance extraordinary is Mr. Wegner is a criminal defense attorney.
Wegner said, “I heard… one gun shot and then immediately after that there was a storm of police going in then a baby was brought out.” The attorney said he usually just hears the suspect’s version of events. This time, he said he “saw it all play out right in front of his eyes.”
Wegner noted the irony when he praised the officers. “Generally, my job would be to defend the guy [who] got shot and it still might be but watching how they went into action today and see it first person was really, really impactful.” He added, “I’m just thankful that they’re really good at what they do.”
Wegner seemed particularly impressed with the way the officers handled the child after the shooting. “The police officers were holding her as gently as possible. Another officer came and took her and patted her on the butt as you would if you were her dad.”
It didn’t surprise me to hear how those officers handled the situation and the baby during the aftermath. I’d seen it too many times during my career to be surprised. But it’s nice when someone normally on the opposite side of the courtroom heaps sincere praise on deserving police officers after witnessing them in action.
Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best used this DV incident to highlight her concerns about the increase in domestic violence in the city. Chief Best says since March 1st, DV calls have “gone up more than 25 percent.” Law enforcement agencies across the nation are reporting similar increases in DV calls. Chief Best says the “increase really appears to correlate with the COVID-19 pandemic.” She’s afraid the increase in DV incidents will continue citywide.
Hopefully, that won’t be the case. However, we can take some solace in one fact. That this incident provided an opportunity for someone whose job it is to reverse the job cop’s do learns a life lesson that teaches him how most police officers do the job.