EVERETT — Two Everett police officers are facing an investigation after their use of Tasers in an October chase injured a man.
The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team continued to investigate the incident this month. The task force of detectives, known as SMART, is assigned to look into police use of force. A spokesperson for the team declined to comment.
Everett police Deputy Chief Jeraud Irving confirmed the officers involved were put on administrative leave. They have since been reinstated and are back on patrol, Irving said.
On the night of Oct. 29, an employee of the O’Reilly Auto Parts on Broadway called 911, according to a search warrant obtained by The Daily Herald. A man in the auto parts store had stolen from it the day before. He was also reportedly suspected of a theft from an O’Reilly shop in Arlington.
When two officers arrived at the Broadway store, the man, 31, pushed one of them and ran, according to the warrant filed in November by a SMART detective. Dispatch notes show the officers reported fighting with the man after a foot chase ended in an alley behind the store. One deployed a Taser. The officers deployed their Taser two more times. A minute later, the officers told dispatchers the man, whom police identified as white, was in custody.
During the chase, the man broke two teeth in a fall, the detective reported. The officers called for medics to evaluate the Everett man.
After the evaluation, authorities took the man to the Snohomish County Jail. The man complained of arm pain, so he was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett. Medical staff reportedly noticed the man couldn’t hold his right arm up. They were concerned about bleeding in his brain.
An initial CT scan didn’t reveal anything, but an X-ray found the suspect had a broken arm, according to the warrant. The man’s wife also told investigators her husband deals with frequent seizures.
The man was later released from the hospital. On Nov. 6, he was booked into jail for investigation of third-degree assault of a police officer and an unrelated theft. Two days later, he posted $10,000 bond and was released.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
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