Deputies shoot, kill armed man

Two Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a man after he reportedly charged at them with a machete early Tuesday morning.

Shane Patrick Williams, 26, died in the street outside his Navy Yard City home on the 3700 block of West E Street. An autopsy conducted by the Kitsap County Coroner’s Office revealed Williams died of “multiple gunshot wounds to the torso and extremities,” according to coroner Greg Sandstrom. He declined to disclose the exact number of gunshot wounds. A toxicology report revealing whether or not Williams had any drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death will not be known until the report comes back from the state crime lab.

“We won’t know that for weeks,” Sandstrom said.

Central Communications (CenCom) received the 911 call at 4 a.m. from a man — believed to be Williams, although that has yet to be confirmed — saying “send the police,” according to Deputy Scott Wilson, spokesman for the Sheriff’s office. “That was it, the line went dead.”

CenCom dispatchers were reportedly unsuccessful in reconnecting with the line.

The two deputies arrived at 4:04 a.m. with a report of shots fired coming in two minutes later. Both deputies — one who has been with the Sheriff’s office for four years, the other six — have been placed on paid administrative leave as the Washington State Patrol (WSP) conducts its investigation.

“I am relieved that the deputies are safe, uninjured and with their families,” Sheriff Steve Boyer said. “This incident is tragic and I extend my sympathy to the man’s family; however it emphasizes, once again, the dangerous and life-threatening circumstances that those in the law enforcement profession encounter frequently. Preliminary facts of the investigation into the shooting indicate that the two patrol deputies reacted to a lethal force threat against them in accordance with their training and experience.”

The names of the two deputies will not be released publicly until the investigation is concluded, according to the Sheriff’s office.

Details of the case have yet to be divulged including what exactly happened during those two minutes between the time the deputies arrived and when shots were fired. It also remains unclear why the 911 call was initially made.

“We’re continuing with the investigation,” said WSP Lt. Clint Casebolt Wednesday afternoon. “We’re slowly piecing things together.”

The occupants in the house at the time of the shooting as well as local residents in the area are being interviewed, according to Wilson.

He adds that “(Williams) is not unknown to local law enforcement agencies. We have had sporadic contact with him.”

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