Police shootout in Shoreline

SHORELINE — A 51-year-old Seattle man was shot and killed in what is being termed “suicide by cop” at the Shoreline Police Station early on March 16.

King County Medical Examiner’s office identified the man as Murray J. Morrison.

Police said Morrison came to Shoreline to visit with some friends he goes to church with, when police received a 911 call at 5:41 a.m. that he had a gun and was possibly holding a hostage, said Shoreline Police Chief Denise Pentony.

“Just a few minutes later he showed up here at the precinct with a weapon,” she said.

Morrison pointed a gun at his head, then started waving it at police, police said. Seven officers at the precinct confronted him to negotiate with him to drop the gun.

After 10 minutes of pleading with him to drop the gun, police said Morrison began shooting at police, police said.

“He fired once, possibly twice, in the direction of the deputies,” said Sgt. Kevin Fagerstrom with the King County Sheriff’s office.

Five officers returned fire, wounding the man, Pentony said.

He was transported to Harborview Medical Center where he died during surgery of multiple gunshot wounds, a King County Medical examiner official stated. No one else was injured in the shooting.

“We are deeply concerned when an individual would face seven or eight armed deputies and after 10 minutes of our pleading at him, he would intentionally open fire at the deputies,” Fagerstrom said.

“It’s very sad,” Pentony said. “Our officers don’t want to be engaged like this. Generally they want to talk the person out of harming themselves or others, and get them committed for 72 hours or longer with a mental health professional.

“But when you pull a gun out and start firing at officers, they have to move to the level of force they are presented with — he gave us no choice,” she said.

Five officers have been placed on paid administrative leave, pending the outcome of an investigation, which is standard practice in police shootings. The deputies involved range in experience from 12 years to two weeks.

Officers will go through a critical incident debriefing and be able to meet with department psychologists before returning to work, Pentony said.

According to Seattle Police Department, Morrison had a criminal record dating back to 1972 including convictions in King County for attempted robbery, assault, harassment and drug violations. His psychiatric history is unknown.