Man shot by police was arrested, released and arrested again

Published 1:30 am Thursday, November 15, 2018

EVERETT — Prosecutors have filed felony charges against a man who was shot by Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies July 14.

Ferral “Walt” Jackson, 68, remains in custody at the Snohomish County Jail, awaiting trial.

He was charged last month with two counts of second-degree assault, along with one count of violating a domestic violence no-contact order.

The shooting occurred at the couple’s home near 116th Street SE, south of Everett. Jackson’s wife called 911 just before 10 p.m. She said he was drunk and violent. During the emergency call, Jackson reportedly yelled that if the police came, he would get his guns.

He then aimed a rifle at the woman, saying, “I’ll shoot at a couple of cops, too,” according to the charges.

His wife followed the dispatcher’s directions to get out of the house.

From their vantage point, the police could see that Jackson was armed and “manipulating the bolt action” on his weapon, court papers say. Jackson then walked outside. The deputies began yelling for him to put down the gun. Instead, he reportedly aimed it at them.

Several deputies opened fire, with one later telling investigators, “I had to stop him from killing me, killing my partner, killing my other partners on the other side (of the house).”

Jackson was hit in the left leg. He was taken to the hospital and later booked into the jail. Guns reportedly were found staged around the home.

On July 19, the court issued an order, forbidding the man from contacting his wife or going near their house. A short time later, he posted bail of $100,000.

The next day, someone called 911 to report that Jackson, on crutches, was walking around his property. A copy of the no-contact order allegedly was found in Jackson’s backpack in a nearby greenbelt.

The defendant reportedly said he was there to get his truck because he wanted to spend a week in Wenatchee “for this to blow over.” He was booked again.

Bail now is set at $500,0000, with trial set for December.

The shooting is being investigated by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team. The detectives are assigned to cases where police have used potentially fatal force. Their findings have not yet been forwarded to the county prosecutor, who will determine whether the use of force was justified.

Court records also show that Bothell police have had contact with Jackson. They went to court in King County on July 18 to obtain a civil order to keep him from possessing firearms.

In September, the extreme risk protection order was extended into fall 2019.

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @rikkiking.