Sheriff’s Office meets with Darrington officials following tear gas leak
Published 12:01 am Friday, May 6, 2011
DARRINGTON — The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office sent a delegation to town Thursday to explain what happened last week when 18 people were taken to the hospital after tear gas leaked from expended cartridges that had been dumped in a Darrington garbage bin.
Four sheriff’s deputies spoke to a group of people who wanted assurance that tear gas cartridges belonging to the Sheriff’s Office would never again be thrown into trash containers in town, said Mayor Joyce Jones.
“I think everyone went away from the meeting satisfied that the sheriff’s department has a plan,” Jones said.
The department is continuing to investigate the incident, which happened after the sheriff’s riot control unit did some tear gas training in a remote area near Darrington, sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said. On their way back to Everett, the team packaged up and disposed of the spent cartridges in the garbage bin outside Town Hall.
“We’re working on developing a different and drastically improved means of disposing of tear gas so nothing like this happens again,” Sheriff John Lovick said.
The delegation also apologized to the mayor and the people of Darrington for the trouble caused last week.
Residual gas apparently escaped in a big cloud after the trash bin was jostled by a garbage truck driver making his morning rounds.
Though the gas isn’t lethal or permanently harmful, seven people were taken to Cascade Valley Hospital with symptoms that included burning in the eyes and mouth, tightness in their chests and other breathing problems. Those patients, along with 11 emergency crew members, all went through a decontamination process and a medical evaluation before being released, hospital officials said.
Town Hall, the library, the fire district office and the sheriff’s station in Darrington were closed for hours after the leak.
The incident was reported across the country, including in the New York Times.
“The Sheriff’s Office was very forthcoming and gave us a detailed report,” Jones said. “I think we all feel better.”
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
