EVERETT — An Everett man is under investigation for dressing as a police officer and pointing a gun at someone while intoxicated outside a gas station just south of Everett.
A Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy responded just after midnight Thursday to the Valero gas station at 11801 Highway 99.
A man who was apparently drunk was outside wearing a security vest with a badge, as well as a hat with a sheriff’s badge, according to a police report filed in court Thursday.
Callers reported that the man threatened people with a gun, and a deputy noticed the man had a gun holstered on his hip. The deputy wrote that it looked like the suspect could be from another police agency.
The man, 50, reportedly told deputies he was hired by the owner to watch over the store and that people outside had tried to jump him.
“Yes, I pulled my gun and pointed it at one of them, but I re-holstered,” he said, according to the court papers. He smelled of alcohol, the deputy wrote.
The deputy grabbed the suspect’s gun, removed the magazine and cleared the chamber, which reportedly had a round in it. One of the men outside the gas station reported that the suspect showed up, shoved him and pointed a gun at him. The deputy asked the man if he acted aggressively at all toward the suspect.
“No,” the man reportedly replied. “Look at him, he’s wasted.”
Video taken from the gas station’s security camera, which had no audio, reportedly shows the man opening the door to the gas station and saying something to the gunman. The alleged victim then leaves and starts eating what looks like soup. According to court papers, the video also shows the suspect leave the store, argue with the man, push him to the ground and point a gun at him while he’s on the ground. After a few seconds, the suspect re-holsters the firearm. At least two people outside rush at the suspect but stop as he puts his hand on the gun, the police report says.
The deputy asked the suspect what he had to drink.
“One drink with dinner,” he reported.
The suspect agreed to undergo field sobriety tests and reportedly showed several signs he had been drinking. He then claimed he had been “hit by a tree” and would have a hard time doing any more tests.
At the jail, the suspect took a breathalyzer test that measured his blood-alcohol content at 0.116 and 0.106. Security video reportedly showed — as witnesses stated — the suspect arriving at the gas station in a car.
He was arrested for investigation of first-degree assault, criminal impersonation of a law enforcement officer and driving under the influence of alcohol.
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