Man killed by deputy reportedly had gun taped to hand

Published 2:02 pm Wednesday, August 12, 2009

LAKE STEVENS – The man shot and killed by a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy last week had a handgun zip-tied and taped to his hand, a sheriff’s office spokeswoman said this afternoon.

Shawn Larson, 39, was shot in the head Aug. 6 at the truck scales near Soper Hill Road in Lake Stevens. A driver flagged down a sheriff’s deputy to report a pickup truck being driven erratically. The deputy pulled over the driver. Police say some kind of dispute developed and Larson was shot.

Police recovered a gun at the scene that didn’t belong to the deputy. Investigators are unsure why the weapon was affixed to Larson’s hand.

The deputy, 33, was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. He has been with the sheriff’s office for about two years and has previous law enforcement experience.

The Snohomish County Multi-Agency Response Team is investigating the shooting. SMART is a special task force of homicide detectives trained to examine deaths involving police. Larson’s death was the fourth police-involved fatality in the county in the past three months; the fifth since November.

Larson worked as a longshoreman for the Port of Everett. His family has said it is eager to learn what led to the man’s death. They said they aren’t jumping to any conclusions until the investigation is finished.