Deputy shoots man to death after fight on Interstate 5

SEATTLE – A man who was stopped for erratic driving on Interstate 5 in the city’s south end attacked a King County sheriff’s deputy, who then shot him to death as they struggled early Tuesday, authorities said.

Neither the deputy nor the man was immediately identified. Investigators were not immediately able to determine whether the man had a weapon, sheriff’s Sgt. John W. Urquhart said.

The deputy, assigned to police work in SeaTac, was bringing a woman from the suburb by Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to jail in downtown Seattle about 2:30 a.m. when he noticed a gray 1990s-model Pontiac Bonneville cutting through traffic erratically, Urquhart said.

“This guy was so dangerous on the freeway, apparently he felt he needed to pull him over right then and there, and he did,” Urquhart told KING-TV.

Upon being signaled to pull over, the Bonneville driver stopped in the center of the northbound lanes, then moved to the side and – according to the woman’s account – got out of his car and attacked the deputy, resulting in “a knock-down, drag-out fight,” during which the deputy was knocked to the ground and kicked, Urquhart said.

During the fight, the microphone on the officer’s hand radio was knocked away, so he was not able to immediately call for help.

The suspect then returned to his car and was in it when the fatal shots were fired, KOMO-TV and the Seattle Times reported.

The dead man is described as 33 years old, but the King County medical examiner’s office did not release his name.

The deputy is described as 28 years old, and a member of the force for about five years.

He was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment of a bite wound and cuts and bruises, and placed on administrative leave.

During the incident, two Seattle city police cars heading for the scene collided at a downtown intersection near the freeway and both officers were taken to Harborview to be treated for head bumps and bruises.

Several lanes of northbound Interstate 5 were closed during the investigation, reducing traffic to a crawl for several hours.