Posted on 06/30/2002 10:15:32 PM PDT by GOV'T MULE
MAPLE VALLEY — Three plainclothes King County sheriff’s detectives were shot this evening as they raided a suspected meth lab at a house in a heavily wooded area near Highway 18 and 208th Avenue Southeast.
The detectives’ injuries are not expected to be life-threatening. Two detectives, both from the North Kenmore precinct, were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. One was shot in the stomach, the other shot four times in the legs. The third detective, from the Maple Valley precinct, was shot in the foot and taken to Valley General Hospital in Renton.
The identities of the officers were not immediately available. All were part of a neighborhood drug enforcement team and all were wearing protective vests.
The incident started as a routine drug raid at 3:07 p.m., when teams of plainclothes narcotics officers, about 20 in all, showed up at a suspected methamphetamine lab in the 24800 block of 208th Avenue Southeast, said John Urquhart, sheriff’s spokesman.
At least two people were arrested, said Greg Dymerski, sheriff’s spokesman. At 6:45 p.m., a 31-year-old man riding a motorcycle drove up the long, unpaved driveway leading to the house.
The detectives asked the man what he was doing, Sheriff Dave Reichert said, and the man pulled a gun and started shooting.
“He was armed,” Reichert said, “and began to fire.”
Deputies, including at least one of the detectives who was shot, returned fire and killed the man, Dymerski said. Dymerski said he did not know if the shooter had been named in the warrant.
“He was acting pretty suspicious, keeping his hands in his pockets, and the next thing they know he pulled out a handgun and shot three of our detectives,” Dymerski said.
Neighbors say the neighborhood has been under police surveillance for a long time.
Chris Christensen, 46, lives in one of the homes that were blocked off near the suspected meth lab. Christensen said he knows “they have been watching this for a long time. And a lot of our friends have been stopped just because of this road, myself included.”
Dymerski said neighbors had called the sheriff’s office several times complaining about drugs, “methamphetamines in particular.”
Reichert said his first reaction when he was told of the shooting was total disbelief. He told the dispatcher, “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Just eight days ago, King County sheriff’s Deputy Richard Herzog was shot and killed with his gun in Newcastle.
“I was shocked as I got the phone call that three of my deputies had been shot after burying Deputy Herzog,” Reichert said last night. “This is really, really hard.”
Herzog, who was assigned to the six-man Newcastle Police Department, responded to a call of a naked and highly agitated man running in traffic and pounding on cars outside an apartment complex on Coal Creek Parkway Southeast.
Herzog scuffled with the man, who grabbed the deputy’s gun and shot him repeatedly. The suspect in that shooting is Ronald Matthews, a 43-year-old with a long history of drug abuse. Matthews was released June 11 from prison, where he was serving time for assaulting a police officer.
Last night, dozens of Seattle police officers gathered at Harborview to lend support to their King County colleagues. “We all just attended the funeral for Deputy Herzog (on Thursday), and to have three deputies wounded is pretty stunning. We’re all pretty shocked now. We’re just trying to help out wherever we can,” Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske said.
Home invasion? I'd sure hope the cops would raid my neighbors if they had a meth lab brewing. I don't care to have my house catch fire thanks to some dumba$$ smoking inside the lab itself next door!
I would say the odds are, they could be distinguished from the average home invasion robber.
Yes we have all heard about the 18 documented cases in the last 20 YEARS.
On John Carlson's radio show last week, Pastor Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church in Kirkland was a guest (for those who don't know, Hutch is black) to discuss the murder of Richard Herzog - and what a breath of fresh air. Hutch said that as long as leaders in the Black Community keep siding with wrong over right, they're going to continue losing credibility. Everything he said was totally right on.
One liberal in particular called the show, and you would have thought he was James Carville with the personal insults and ugliness he spewed at Hutch. Hutch just calmly told him that he needed to come to church.
Take heart. There IS some sanity out there.
Ummm...drive up on a motorcycle three hours after the raid and start shooting detectives? Nah. I don't think so.
I have also thought about the possibility of wining the lottery, being struck by lightening, and becoming the next super bowl quarterback. All more likely than swat knocking down my door.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.