Source: KOMO News
TULALIP, Wash. — A team of detectives is investigating after a 50-year-old man died during a physical altercation with police on the Tulalip Reservation Friday night.
Two Tulalip Tribal Police Department officers and one Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office deputy were responding to reports of a man walking in the roadway in the 6400 block of Marine View Drive around 9:45 p.m.
When officers arrived they detained the man, and placed him in protective custody in order to remove him from the road, the Mukilteo Police Department said.
The man began fighting with officers while they tried to place him in the patrol car, and became unresponsive during the altercation, police said.
Officers attempted to revive him with CPR until medical aid arrived, but he died at the scene, according to police.
“We are looking into all aspects,” Colt Davis with Mukilteo Police Department said. “The medical examiner needs to look at the autopsy and see what’s going on with the body. We don’t know exactly what caused what, because we just know during the alteration the body became unresponsive. The officers noticed that and gave CPR to revive the subject, and he unfortunately died at the scene.”
The official cause and manner of death will be confirmed by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The man’s name has not been released, but community members say he was a husband, father, and comes from a prominent tribal family.
The 27-year-old deputy with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has three years of service, the 24-year-old officer with Tulalip Tribal police has 14 months of service, and the 39-year-old officer with Tulalip Tribal police has nine years of service, officials said.
The deputy and the tribal police officers have been placed on administrative leave pending the investigation.