Officers use non-lethal projectile to nab suspect

Bremerton police for the first time last week used a “less-than-lethal” gun to incapacitate and apprehend a dangerous suspect holding a knife.

A Bremerton sergeant used a 40-mm launcher to fire a lightweight, hard-foam projectile to incapacitate the suspect, rather than using a regular gun to take her down.

At 5:08 a.m. on Wednesday, June 16, CenCom dispatched officers to a the 100 block of Bloomington Avenue for a reported assault with a knife.

According to the police report, the manager of the apartment building heard screaming from one of the units and knocked on the door. The manager was greeted by Delfia R. Manansala, 60, and his wife, Josephina F. Manansala, 54, who was “standing behind him with a kitchen knife raised in an aggressive manor, as if she was going to attack him. He ran out and Josephina chased after him with the knife raised.”

The manager backed away and told police that Mrs. Manansala chased her husband down a stairway while still holding the knife. The manager told police that she felt Mrs. Manansala could have stabbed her or her husband.

Officers arrived on the scene within minutes of the 911 call and continued to ask Mrs. Manansala to open the door and speak with them.

“She yelled continually at us, and refused all verbal commands,” the police report states.

Mr. Manansala told police that his wife’s behavior was totally out of character. He said they had been married for eight years, living in the Bloomington Avenue apartment for about a year and nothing like this had ever happened before.

The out-of-character behavior concerned police and they contacted a Kitsap Mental Health practitioner to speak with Mrs. Manansala. Police also obtained a search warrant to enter the residence.

Officers entered the apartment, with the first one in utilizing a ballistic shield for cover while his duty pistol was “at the low ready.” The entry team slowly made its way to a back bedroom and discovered that Mrs. Manansala was locked inside of the bathroom.

“She yelled back disobeying all commands,” the police report states.

A ram was used to breach the door and an officer immediately announced that Mrs. Manansala was armed with a knife. At that point, a sergeant fired the less-than-lethal projectile, striking Mrs. Manansala “in the upper left leg, momentarily incapacitating her, allowing for arresting officers to take her into custody without further incident.”

Mrs. Manansala was then evaluated at Harrison Medical Center before eventually being booked into the Kitsap County Jail on $50,000 bail.

 

Contact Central Kitsap Reporter Staff Writer Kevan Moore at kmoore@soundpublishing.com.

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