A man was shot by Seattle police near a bus stop at Third Avenue and Yesler Way around 10 p.m. Tuesday. Police say the man, estimated to be in his late 30s, was about to grab a handgun out of his waistband when he was shot. He's in serious condition in the intensive-care unit and is expected to survive, according to Harborview spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson.
The incident is the fifth officer-involved shooting this year. While that may seem like a lot, seattlepi.comreports it isn't much higher than previous years. There were just as many in 2009, which ended with the fatal shooting of cop-killer Maurice Clemmons. Seattlepi.com lists out the shootings so far this year:
On November 30, a man who police said was armed and suicidal was shot to death in a stolen car after he raised and lowered a .32 caliber revolver loaded with three live rounds. Seattle's first officer-involved shooting this year happened Aug. 16, when Ariel Rosenfeld was killed at the Wedgwood QFC grocery store after he pulled a gun in a confrontation with officers. On Aug. 30, John T. Williams was killed by a two-year officer at Boren Avenue and Howell Street after police say he refused to drop a knife with a 3-inch blade. That incident remains under investigation, and the officer who killed Williams, Ian Birk, was ordered to turn in his gun and badge. On Feb. 28, Christopher Wright Sr. died after being hit by a police Taser. The suspect, who investigators say had tried to sexually assault a woman in an Aurora Avenue North motel, died from brain death and organ failure due to acute cocaine intoxication with excited delirium and physical restraint, according to the King County Medical Examiner. His manner of death was undetermined. In addition to the fatal incidents, Thomas Qualls was shot by officers Sept. 3 after police say the suicidal man leveled an AK-47-style rifle at them. Qualls survived and has pleaded not guilty to three counts of assault with a firearm.