BOTHELL — A man in his 20s was shot and killed after a brief, high-speed police chase Tuesday night north of Bothell.
A sheriff’s deputy saw a pickup speeding from the scene of a “disturbance” around 10:15 p.m., according to a news release by the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, also known as SMART.
Police haven’t said what exactly led someone at a cul-de-sac at 196th Place SE and 6th Drive SE to call 911.
A deputy followed the truck, believing it was involved in the disturbance. The man reportedly was driving wildly, with a woman in a passenger seat.
Over police radio, the deputy said the truck’s speed topped “triple digits” — crashing, swerving back onto the road, running a red light, nearly ramming a patrol car and endangering other drivers. The westbound chase lasted about two minutes along Highway 524, according to the radio traffic.
At least twice, the deputy tried to stop the truck with a PIT maneuver, a technique where an officer bumps a corner of a patrol car into a corner of a fleeing vehicle, to make the vehicle spin out. But the pickup kept going.
Eventually, the driver slowed to a halt at North Damson Road, about a mile from the original 911 call. Both the man and woman were still in the truck when shots rang out, said Aaron Snell, an Everett police officer and spokesman for SMART.
The man was hit, and he later died at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Police have not said whether he had a weapon.
The Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause and manner of death. The man’s identity hadn’t been released Wednesday.
The woman was not physically hurt. She was also in her 20s.
That stretch of Highway 524 is known as Filbert Road. Its intersection with Damson is flanked by townhouses, a funeral home and an espresso stand.
SMART is a team of local detectives who investigate cases where police use potentially fatal force. Their findings will be sent to the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
Only one deputy was involved in the incident, Snell said. He was put on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure. His name was not released.
This is the sixth police shooting this year to be investigated by SMART. Last year, the team had seven cases.
Caleb Hutton: 425-339-3454; chutton@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @snocaleb.
This story has been modified to correct the directional quadrant of two street names.
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