Family hopes for answers in deputy-involved Lake Stevens shooting

Published 9:34 pm Monday, August 10, 2009

EVERETT — Shawn Larson’s family is reaching for answers.

Larson, 39, was fatally shot by a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Thursday night during a traffic stop in Lake Stevens.

“Shawn is not going to be able to tell his story. This is just going to be difficult,” his cousin, Cris Larson of Everett, said Monday.

Shawn Larson’s death was the fifth police-involved fatality in Snohomish County since November and the fourth in three months.

Late on Thursday, a driver flagged down a sheriff’s deputy to report a pickup truck that was being driven erratically. The deputy pulled over the driver at the truck scales near Soper Hill Road in Lake Stevens. Police say some kind of dispute developed and Shawn Larson was shot.

Medics tried to revive him but couldn’t. The Snohomish County medical examiner on Monday determined that Shawn Larson died from a gunshot wound to his head.

Larson worked as a longshoreman for the Port of Everett. His family is eager to learn what happened, Cris Larson said. They are bracing for what may be a long, agonizing wait and they aren’t jumping to conclusions.

“By speculating and placing blame, it just makes it worse for the family and, I’m sure, for the family of this deputy as well,” Larson said.

Investigators have said they found a handgun at the scene that wasn’t the deputy’s.

Cris Larson said his cousin had a concealed weapons permit and a handgun.

“One thing I am sure of is, Shawn did nothing deliberately to bring about the shooting. I’m not saying he didn’t do anything wrong, but I know for certain that he would never, ever intentionally hurt anybody,” Cris Larson said.

The Snohomish County Multi-Agency Response Team is investigating the shooting. SMART is a special task force of homicide detectives trained to examine deaths involving police.

The sheriff’s deputy, 33, was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation. The deputy has been with the sheriff’s office for about two years and has previous law enforcement experience.

Earlier in his life, Shawn Larson struggled with addiction. He stayed clean and sober for the past six years, Cris Larson said.

He set up his own AA chapter and worked tirelessly to keep young people off alcohol and drugs, his cousin said. Shawn Larson lived for many years in Everett and Lake Stevens. He leaves behind a son and a daughter, both grown.

Cris Larson described his cousin as a caring father and a generous man who was always looking out for others.

On Monday, he recalled how his cousin’s eyes lit up whenever the two would meet.

Shawn Larson always greeted him with a crushing bear hug.

“Just a big, huge teddy bear of a man,” Cris Larson said. “He is going to be terribly, terribly missed.”

Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com.