BRIER – Police officer Edwanton “Eddie” A. Thomas died Tuesday, Sept. 12, while struggling with former Mayor Gary Lee Starks in his Brier home, who was having some sort of a medical emergency, officials said.
What caused the 28-year-old Brier officer to apparently collapse and stop breathing was not immediately known, Everett Police Sgt. Boyd Bryant said.
Starks, 55, was questioned by detectives Tuesday night and booked into jail early Wednesday morning for investigation of third-degree assault and booked into the Snohomish County Jail in Everett.
Everett District Court Judge Roger Fisher Wednesday found that Starks is neither a risk to the community nor a risk to flee. The prosecutor asked for $50,000 bail, but Fisher released Starks on his personal recognizance.
Starks’ lawyer, Tolan Furusho of Bellevue, argued that his client was a solid member of the community, having served on the City Council and then as Brier mayor between October 2003 and the end of 2005.
Meanwhile, no new light was shed on what killed Thomas. He had been struggling with Starks, a diabetic who at the time was in the midst of a hypoglycemic episode, according to Furusho.
An autopsy was conducted Wednesday on Thomas, 28, who had been on the Brier force since January.
Carolyn Sanden, medical examiner spokeswoman, said determination of the cause and manner of Thomas’ death are pending. She said more tests will be conducted before a conclusion is reached, which could be in four weeks or more.
The death is being investigated by a team of detectives from Everett, Mountlake Terrace and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
“The call originated as a medical emergency. It is a reminder to police and the community at large that officers are risking their lives for the community,” Bryant said. “It is a very significant loss for the community.”
At about 4:40 p.m. Tuesday, the officer went to a home in the 22000 block of Vine Road. Emergency dispatchers had received a call seeking medical assistance for a diabetic man in need of medical treatment, Bryant said.
The officer was told by a dispatcher that the man in need of medical attention had a history of being aggressive to officers and aid workers while in this condition, documents said.
The officer requested backup from Mountlake Terrace. Although an aid crew had arrived, it was waiting for the situation to be stabilized before entering the home, according to documents.
At 4:54 p.m., the officer pushed the emergency distress button on his hand-held radio. A minute later, the officer broadcast that the man with whom he was struggling had a gun.
On one of the officer’s radio transmissions, “yelling, grunting and heavy breathing could be heard in the background,” the document said.
Officers from nearby Mountlake Terrace sped to his aid.
When officers arrived at the home, they found the officer and the Brier man on a bed in a back bedroom, according to documents filed in Everett District Court.
The Brier man was in handcuffs. The officer was unconscious and not breathing, court documents said.
There were obvious signs of a struggle in the room, including items scattered about and a piece of the sideboard of the bed broken off. A pistol in a holster was spotted on the floor beside the bed, according to court papers.
Mountlake Terrace police attempted first aid. The officer was taken by ambulance to Stevens Hospital in Edmonds, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, Bryant said.
The officer’s family was notified of his death about 8 p.m. Tuesday.
It was Starks’ wife who called medics for her husband, said Ken Hutcherson, Starks’ pastor at Antioch Bible Church in Redmond. Hutcherson, his wife and other supporters attended the brief court hearing.
She had expected Starks to pick her up after work and she called when he didn’t show. From the telephone conversation, she determined that he might be having an episode.
Hutcherson said he’s never seen Starks angry “to the point of hurting someone. It’s just a shock to me just being here knowing Gary.”
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