Mentally Ill in SnoCo? Here’s Your Bullet

Seems the Snohomish County Sheriff has a new treatment for mental illness. Sometimes you survive it, sometimes you don’t

It seems there is a long standing history of police simply shooting and killing people who are in obvious distress, or known to be mentally ill.

The Ebey Island story makes no sense at all. Do all suicidal people go duck hunting before they kill themselves?

On January 22nd a man was shot and killed
35-year-old Lake Stevens man who had been described as suicidal was fatally shot by Snohomish County sheriff’s deputies Sunday night after a brief confrontation in which he aimed a gun at officers, authorities said. The victim’s wife called 911 at 8 p.m. Sunday to report that her husband was “suicidal and wanted the police to kill him,” according to Kristin Banfield, The woman told dispatchers that her husband had gone bird hunting but she did not know where, her husband’s vehicle was spotted in a gravel parking lot near 51st Avenue Southeast and 20th Street Southeast on Ebey Island, Deputies tried to persuade the man to come out of his vehicle unarmed, but he was not “compliant” and came out holding what deputies said appeared to be a weapon. Three deputies opened fire, Banfield said, and the man was declared dead at the scene. A firearm was recovered, Banfield said. The deputies who were involved in the shooting — a sergeant with 10 years on the force, a deputy with 12 years, and a deputy with two years read more…

This story makes even less sense, they claim multiple edge weapons were found ut fail to say where or if he even had them on his person

On February 13th a man was shot and airlifted to Harborview
A 34-year-old Lynnwood man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center Monday night after being shot by a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy. Deputies were dispatched after the Lynnwood man texted a friend to say he was suicidal and the friend then called 911 around 5:15 p.m., at 8:20 p.m., three deputies located the man’s vehicle at the winter road-closure gate on Mountain Loop Highway, east of Granite Falls, “After contacting the man, a deputy fired multiple shots,” “multiple edged weapons” were found at the scene and detectives with the task force will investigate the interactions between the man and the deputies. read more…

So we’ve got 4 or 5 sheriffs sitting at home on paid administrative leave, for these 2 cases alone.