Family: ‘Manic episode’ preceded trooper shooting man on I-5 near Everett

EVERETT — Marvin Arellano was known for his generosity, his older brother said.

He sold Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other luxury cars for a living, Gilbert Arellano recalled. Marvin Arellano, 31, often used those cars to give rides to homeless people in their hometown of Nampa, Idaho.

“He was extremely, extremely generous,” Gilbert Arellano, of Nampa, said earlier this month. “He was always helping people, he was just always lending people a hand.”

Family members say Marvin Arellano suffered from a mental illness that ultimately led to his death.

Last month, a Washington State Patrol trooper fatally shot Marvin Arellano on the side of I-5 near Everett, after he attacked construction workers in what authorities described as road rage.

Loved ones said the incident stemmed from a bipolar disorder diagnosis from years earlier. Gilbert Arellano believes his brother was having a “manic episode.”

Prior to his death, Gilbert Arellano said it became increasingly difficult for the family to take care of Marvin.

“I don’t know much about that mental illness, I’m not sure what was going through his mind,” Gilbert Arellano said. ”We tried to help him the best we could.”

People diagnosed with bipolar disorder can act in ways that are out of character for them — often without recognizing their harmful effects, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team, also known as SMART, continued investigating the fatal shooting this week. The team includes a cadre of detectives tasked with examining police use of force. The team has provided weekly updates on the investigation, but hasn’t released any significant new information since late May.

Around 4 p.m. May 16, Marvin Arellano was driving on northbound I-5 near Marine View Drive when he rammed into a state Department of Transportation contractor’s lift on the side of the road, SMART spokesperson Courtney O’Keefe wrote in a press release. Two road workers were on the lift.

Marvin Arellano got out of his car and attacked one of the contractors, the press release read. Troopers rushed to the scene.

Marvin Arellano got into the contractors’ car and grabbed a rotary hammer chisel. He got into another fight with a trooper, who at one point used a Taser on him, according to SMART.

The end of the confrontation with the trooper was apparently captured on video taken by a witness.

In the footage, Marvin Arellano, wearing black shorts, walks up to a trooper on the shoulder of the freeway, yelling. He jogs away from the trooper and yells at him.

He turns around to face the trooper.

“I’m not hurting anybody,” Marvin Arellano tells the officer twice, with his arms up in the video.

“Turn around! Do not face me! Turn around, now!” the trooper demands.

“I’m the boss, mother-(expletive)!” Marvin Arellano yells and charges back at the trooper.

The footage shows the trooper firing multiple shots at Arellano, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

“It’s very, very unfortunate how he was portrayed in his final moments,” Gilbert Arellano said. “He was just such a good person.”

The shooting brought traffic to a standstill for hours on many roads across Snohomish County.

The trooper had not been identified as of Thursday.

A person who identified herself as a family friend of the Arellanos called The Daily Herald, but did not respond to several follow-up interview requests.

“Yes, he was not following orders, and it’s unfortunate that that happened,” she said. “But the police should have known that he was not OK.”

She noted family had reported Marvin Arellano’s concerning behavior to police in Idaho in the past.

Gilbert Arellano wasn’t sure why his brother was in Everett.

According to his social media, Marvin Arellano often traveled over the past few years — to destinations like Las Vegas; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Cancun, Mexico. At home, he spent his days with his Golden Retriever, Maple.

Other family members, many of whom reside in Idaho, declined interviews with The Daily Herald.

Following Marvin Arellano’s death, friends and family mourned him on social media.

“I think I’ll see you in the next family reunion. I feel like you’ll be walking through the door saying hi to everyone. That I’ll be hearing your laugh,” one family member wrote. “Other times, it becomes so real and I feel anger because you were taken from us too soon.”

Family members struggled with how the media portrayed Marvin Arellano.

“There is not a lot of support for mental health in this country,” Gilbert Arellano said. “It’s a shame that it was reported as one thing, when you have all the facts right there.”

Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.