Deputy kills armed man during traffic stop
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YELM, Wash. -- A sheriff's deputy fatally shot an armed man during a traffic stop early Friday, and investigators are looking into whether the man wanted to be shot by police.
Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said the incident began about 12:40 a.m. when a deputy pulled over the driver in the 6900 block of Highway 702.
As the deputy was running the driver's license plate, the man got out of his car and started walking toward the deputy while holding a handgun.
The man said "it all ends here" as he approached the deputy, who eventually opened fire, Troyer said.
The 50-year-old Yelm man died at the scene. His name has not been released and it was not clear if he fired any shots.
The deputy was not hurt.
"We're looking at the possibility it could be a suicide by cop," Troyer said. "We're going to do an investigation into him and see what led up to him being in this state of mind."
Investigators closed the road for several hours while they collected evidence at the scene.
Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said the incident began about 12:40 a.m. when a deputy pulled over the driver in the 6900 block of Highway 702.
As the deputy was running the driver's license plate, the man got out of his car and started walking toward the deputy while holding a handgun.
The man said "it all ends here" as he approached the deputy, who eventually opened fire, Troyer said.
The 50-year-old Yelm man died at the scene. His name has not been released and it was not clear if he fired any shots.
The deputy was not hurt.
"We're looking at the possibility it could be a suicide by cop," Troyer said. "We're going to do an investigation into him and see what led up to him being in this state of mind."
Investigators closed the road for several hours while they collected evidence at the scene.
I'm sure there are a lot of missing details behind that "suicide by cop" statement... How many shots, was the shotgun discharged, and video, etc...
I'm not going to celebrate the death of a human being, but I will celebrate that this officer is able to return home to his family.
he's an evil person. why did he make the deputy do the dirty job for him? why couldn't he just blow his brain out in the car?
"Investigators are looking into whether the man wanted to be shot by police." Well I'm no expert, but if he got out of the car and walked up to the officer with a gun, I think it's safe to assume that was his objective.
Isn't there a better way of disarming a man than fatally shooting him?
 @Damian Have someone point a gun at you with the intent of shooting and let's see what your reaction is.
@ Damian Perhaps the officer should have got out of his car & walked up to the guy and tickled him until he dropped the gun on the ground?
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What do you suggest someone do when looking down the barrel of a gun?
Yes you can ask him nicely
You can tell him a joke and expect he will just roll on the floor laughing
You can pray to God and hope He sends His angels to rescue you
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@Vince And when none of those things work- you can ask God face to face why?
 @Damian Well basically it comes down to whether or not you want to live. What do you expect an officer to do? There's no other choice! Unfortunately it's THAT simple!
@Damian When someone pulls a gun and points it at you you have to assume he/she is going to use it and that it is loaded. If you hesitate, you are dead.
I am not a badge waver, but it sounds like a known phenomenon called suicide by cop. Â People want to die but can't take their own life, so they find someone that will do it for them.
And if you believe the cops story (er I mean coverup) I have a bridge to sell you
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 @FremontTroll You're kidding right? Take your conspiracy theories and go away, this isn't Los Angeles circa 1987. How about you go and stay under your bridge, because your ignorant words are hurtful.
 @PacificNWRunner Do you actually believe every cop's story? It's his word and a dead man's. The dead man can't give his version of the events. Given the recent history of law enforcement I would tend to not believe a cop unless proven otherwise.Â
 @FremontTroll  @PacificNWRunner Not all cops are bad ones and there is no statement on whether a dash cam was running or not during the incident.
 @FremontTroll Are you serious? You're starting to live up to your name.
@FremontTroll And you actually believe every criminal's or loser's story?
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 @dkgiovenco You wouldn't be saying that if he was your father or brother.Â
Would love to see all career criminals and murders meet their maker this way. It would save millions of taxpayers dollars.Â
 @HallandOates We don't even know that he was a criminal. Where does it say he was? Maybe he just wanted out and couldn't do it himself? Maybe he was set up. We'll never know now.Â
 @FremontTroll Yeah, what better way to prove your innocence than to walk up to a cop and point a gun at him? Man, you just clearly hate cops, don't ya?
 @Zoso Yeah, wait until Fremont Troll needs a copy, then they'll be his best friend.
 @HallandOates Why would you wish that on police officers? If they want to die they should shoot themselves!!!!Â
 @lovinTruth  @HallandOates I read your statement twice and thought about how interesting it is that many career criminals are probably raised from childhood to believe suicide is against their religious beliefs (oh but killing others isnt apparently). Just something to consider.
 @lovinTruth That would work too but unfortunately most don't take themselves out of the gene pool.Â
People are becoming more and more frustrated with a broken society. Â Going to get worse.
 @Blindman One comment you've made that I can agree with.......at least this guy just ended himself, although he did it in the worst way possible. Should have had the balls to just use the gun on himself rather than involving the poor officer.
Gene Autry would have shot the gun out of his hand.
Unfortunately what the now dead man exclaimed is actually the beginning of the questions to find out why he ended his life as he did.
Heck yeah he wanted to be shot and killed, and his wish was granted. RIP
Nice shot man.
 @F4I He didn't shoot a freakin deer. It was a human being. What a sad person you are.Â
 @FremontTroll Well guess what? The cop's a human being too! Let me know if you need me to post a link to the definition of a term called "self defense."
 @F4I You have proven my point about society... sad.
 @Funky-Munky  @F4I Better him then the cop.
 @DarkParty  @F4I You missed the point... We shouldn't act like Rome and cheer on a Gladiator type atmosphere... Compassion for the officer comes first. Have you ever taken a life or saw a life taken?
I feel horrible for the officer.... sad. :(Â You want to do something like that be a man and go somewhere away from people and do it....
 @Funky-Munky Agreed 100%.  It's senseless to drag an innocent person (the officer) into this sort of mess.  Now, he'll be dealing with a lot of emotional trauma trying to come to terms with taking this guy's life - justified, or not.  People like to act like it's a simple thing - to kill another human being.  It really isn't, unless you're a psychopath.  Even if you're 100% right, you'll question yourself and torment yourself with all the, "What ifs" for a very long time.Â
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I hope the officer has a good support network with his friends, family and fellow officers and can pull through this situation.Â
 @Datsuyama  @Funky-Munky I saw a police shooting once. The officers were high-fiving each other after it was over. Most officers get off on it. Don't worry about them.Â
 @FremontTroll  @Funky-Munky Even if what you say were true, the officers surely had some very dark, difficult times later.  People often use "gallows humor" to cope with a situation before them but the true effects manifest themselves very deeply. Â
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An officer I know shot and killed a guy - completely justified, 100% good shoot. Â But, the coping afterwards was long and difficult and almost cost him his marriage. Â Fortunately, his wife was able to stand by him and help him though it. Â Now, he's back and just as good as new... but I'd bet, on occasion, he still asks himself if he did the right thing.
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Again, it's no simple thing, justified or not.Â
@ FremontTroll I really doubt you saw an officer-involved shooting. If you say you did, I want details, like when and where. What was the name of the person who was shot? How did you see it, and did the police interview you afterwards? I think you are nothing but a police-hating troll who probably has a long criminal history yourself and that's why you don't like police officers.Â
@FremontTroll  I'm sure you did- at the shooting range and yes after they hit the target they high fived each other. I seriously doubt you have ever seen an officer shoot a person.Â
@FremontTroll @Datsuyama @Funky-Munky Where was this and when? I've seen a ploice shooting and everyone was very professional and serious about it.