Video: Man charged at trooper, shouting ‘Who’s the boss?’ before shooting

EVERETT — A 30-second video posted to social media appears to show a state trooper fatally shooting a man on northbound I-5 following an attack on roadside workers Thursday afternoon.

Neither the trooper nor the deceased man had been identified as of Friday afternoon.

Shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday, the Washington State Patrol responded to a report of an angry man armed with a hammer on the shoulder of northbound I-5, north of the exit to East Marine View Drive, said Courtney O’Keefe, a spokesperson for the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team.

According to authorities, the man attacked the road workers, then the trooper.

Taken from the driver’s side window, the new video shows a man in black shorts walking up to a lone trooper on the shoulder of the freeway, yelling.

So far, The Daily Herald has been unable to independently verify the video. It was posted on X in response to a news reporter’s account of what happened — and it appears to show a uniformed trooper along the freeway, on an overcast day, confronting a man dressed similarly to the assailant in another video from earlier in the incident, recorded on state traffic cameras.

In the new video, the trooper has a gun drawn. The agitated man walks up to the trooper, wagging his finger and taunting him, coming close enough for the trooper to push the man backward.

The man jogs away: “Let’s go, let’s go,” he yells.

He turns around to face the trooper.

“I’m not hurting anybody,” he tells the officer twice, with his arms up.

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

“Who’s the boss? You or me, (expletive)?” the man yells back.

“I am!” the trooper responds.

“I’m the boss, mother-(expletive)!” the man yells back, charging at the trooper.

The trooper fired three shots. The man fell to the ground. Police tried CPR, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities.

The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team responded to the shoulder of the freeway, shutting down northbound traffic for hours. The team, also known as SMART, includes a cadre of detectives tasked with examining police use of force.

One of the road workers suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening, O’Keefe said.

Traffic was backed up for miles. Roads in Everett and surrounding cities were also clogged. Hundreds of drivers were stuck in the standstill for hours.

Northbound I-5 opened again around midnight.

Around 11 a.m. Friday, O’Keefe wrote in an email that Washington State Patrol could provide information on the trooper. The state patrol declined to release anything about the trooper’s background as of Friday afternoon.

A state patrol spokesperson also said their agency was unable to comment on the incident itself, referring a reporter to contact SMART for any further information.

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