People place flowers at a memorial in front of Bothell City Hall on Tuesday for Officer Jonathan Shoop, who was killed in the line of duty Monday night. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

People place flowers at a memorial in front of Bothell City Hall on Tuesday for Officer Jonathan Shoop, who was killed in the line of duty Monday night. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Bullet that killed Bothell officer came from partner’s gun

But prosecutors say that’s “immaterial,” and charged Henry Washington with aggravated murder Friday.

BOTHELL — The bullet that killed a Bothell police officer came from the gun of his wounded partner, who was returning fire in a shootout Monday night, according to new court documents.

On Friday, prosecutors charged Henry Eugene Washington, 37, with aggravated first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, accusing him of opening fire on officer-in-training Jonathan Shoop and field training officer Mustafa Kumcur, who was in the passenger seat, during a traffic stop on Highway 522.

Shoop had pulled over Washington for driving a Pontiac G6 with no license plate around 9:40 p.m. Monday, according to the charges. New information released by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team says both officers got out and talked with the driver for over a minute, before Washington sped away. (An earlier report stated Washington sped off as officer Shoop approached the car.)

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

According to the new report, the two officers raced back to their patrol cruiser as Washington hit the gas. The Pontiac struck a 20-year-old man on a scooter in a crosswalk, leaving him with a broken femur.

The car crashed through a raised center median and came to a stop facing the wrong way. Washington got out of the Pontiac, according to the charges. The officers had rolled up in the patrol car to stop the fleeing driver, when Washington “changed direction and rapidly approached the driver’s door of the patrol SUV, while holding a pistol, and opened fire,” according to the SMART investigation.

Jonathan Shoop (Bothell Police Department)

Jonathan Shoop (Bothell Police Department)

A witness reported Washington shouted at least twice, “Come on, pig” — a derisive term for a cop — before firing two shots.

One round broke the driver’s window.

The other hit officer Kumcur’s pistol, ricocheted, and grazed his head, the charges say. Officer Kumcur fired “multiple times.” One of the training officer’s bullets struck Shoop, killing him. Washington fled north, and hid from a swarm of officers for about six hours.

Prosecutors are pursuing the aggravated murder charge on the grounds that Shoop was a law enforcement officer performing his official duties at the time of the act that resulted in death.

“The fact that Mr. Washington did not fire the fatal shot is immaterial to his culpability in this crime,” wrote King County senior deputy prosecutor Mary Barbosa. “But for Mr. Washington’s directed attack on the officers, Officer Shoop would be alive today.”

For decades, aggravated murder carried only two possible sentences in Washington state: life in prison or the death penalty. Then the state Supreme Court struck down the death penalty in 2018. If convicted as charged, life in prison is the only possible sentence.

Bothell city limits cross into both King and Snohomish counties. All of the alleged crimes occurred about a mile south of the county line.

Shoop’s body was examined by the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office, and the case is being investigated by a cadre of Snohomish County detectives, known as SMART, who look into police use of force.

The murder case is being handled in Seattle, rather than Everett.

Washington also faces a charge of vehicular assault, for striking the young man on the scooter. The suspect was found hours later. He hid on a nearby roof, and made a phone call to police in Junction City, Kansas — where he’d lived in the past — identifying himself by name and admitting to killing a police officer in Washington.

Police arrested him after 3 a.m. Tuesday, when he fell between two walls and got trapped. Officers reported recovering a handgun from Washington’s pants, along with a Crown Royal bag holding 9 mm bullets.

Washington told police he “instinctively” knew the officer was armed and believed the officer was going to shoot him, “and he wanted to be ‘first’ before they could get him.” At times he rambled and made grandiose off-topic statements, but when refocused, he answered questions, a Snohomish County detective wrote. He told police he’d smoked marijuana “in the short time before this incident,” but said it didn’t affect his ability to understand.

He confirmed he recognized the slain officer was in full uniform, inside a marked police car with emergency lights. He stated he didn’t realize there were two officers in the car, the charges say.

The suspect reportedly claimed he fired in self-defense of himself, as well as his vehicle, marijuana and gun. His family told the Seattle TV news station KOMO that he has a history of mental problems.

Washington has roots in Texas but has apparently lived all around the country. He’d been convicted of assault causing bodily injury, assault of a public servant, theft of property, unauthorized use of a vehicle, evading arrest, making a terroristic threat, aggravated intimidation of a victim or witness, violating a protection order and domestic violence felony stalking.

Prosecutors noted that Washington “chose to arm himself with a gun he wasn’t legally permitted to carry. His hostility toward the victim officers was apparent to a nearby witness who heard Washington yell, ‘Come on pigs,’ as he quickly advanced on the officers with his gun in his hand.”

The defendant remained jailed Friday. A King County judge ordered him to be held without the possibility of bail.

Shoop, who served in the U.S. Coast Guard, joined Bothell police in June 2019. Bothell Capt. Mike Johnson said he was someone “who treated people the way you would want to be treated by the police.”

Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Everett Historic Theater owner Curtis Shriner inside the theater on Tuesday, May 13, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Historic Everett Theatre sale on horizon, future uncertain

With expected new ownership, events for July and August will be canceled. The schedule for the fall and beyond is unclear.

Contributed photo from Snohomish County Public Works
Snohomish County Public Works contractor crews have begun their summer 2016 paving work on 13 miles of roadway, primarily in the Monroe and Stanwood areas. This photo is an example of paving work from a previous summer. A new layer of asphalt is put down over the old.
Snohomish County plans to resurface about 76 miles of roads this summer

EVERETT – As part of its annual road maintenance and preservation program,… Continue reading

City of Everett Engineer Tom Hood, left, and City of Everett Engineer and Project Manager Dan Enrico, right, talks about the current Edgewater Bridge demolition on Friday, May 9, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
How do you get rid of a bridge? Everett engineers can explain.

Workers began dismantling the old Edgewater Bridge on May 2. The process could take one to two months, city engineers said.

Smoke from the Bolt Creek fire silhouettes a mountain ridge and trees just outside of Index on Sept. 12, 2022. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County will host two wildfire-preparedness meetings in May

Meetings will allow community members to learn wildfire mitigation strategies and connect with a variety of local and state agencies.

Helion's 6th fusion prototype, Trenta, on display on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Helion celebrates smoother path to fusion energy site approval

Helion CEO applauds legislation signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson expected to streamline site selection process.

Vehicles travel along Mukilteo Speedway on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Mukilteo cameras go live to curb speeding on Speedway

Starting Friday, an automated traffic camera system will cover four blocks of Mukilteo Speedway. A 30-day warning period is in place.

Carli Brockman lets her daughter Carli, 2, help push her ballot into the ballot drop box on the Snohomish County Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Here’s who filed for the primary election in Snohomish County

Positions with three or more candidates will go to voters Aug. 5 to determine final contenders for the Nov. 4 general election.

Gov. Bob Ferguson’s signature on the the 1,367 page document outlining the state’s 2025 operating budget. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
Ferguson signs budget boosting Washington state spending and taxes

The governor used his veto pen sparingly, to the delight of Democrats and the disappointment of Republicans.

Madison Family Shelter Family Support Specialist Dan Blizard talks about one of the pallet homes on Monday, May 19, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Madison Family Shelter reopens after hiatus

The Pallet shelter village, formerly Faith Family Village, provides housing for up to eight families for 90 days.

Washington State Trooper Chris Gadd is transported inside prior to a memorial service in his honor Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Jury selection begins in Everett trial of driver accused in trooper’s death

Jurors questioned on bias, media exposure in the case involving fallen Washington State Patrol trooper Chris Gadd.

Everett
Five arrested in connection with Everett toddler’s 2024 overdose death

More than a year after 13-month-old died, Everett police make arrests in overdose case.

Marysville School Board President Connor Krebbs speaks during a school board meeting before voting on school closures in the district on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Marysville school board president to resign

Connor Krebbs served on the board for nearly four years. He is set to be hired as a staff member at the district.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.