A news conference will be held on Wednesday, December 27th at 1:00 pm in the Emergency Operations Center on the 2nd floor of the Richard A. Zais, Jr. Law & Justice Center (200 S. 3rd Street) regarding two Yakima Police Department (“YPD”) officer-involved shootings that occurred in the early morning of December 26th.
During the news conference, the names of the three YPD officers who were involved in the incidents will be provided. Those officers are currently on paid administrative leave, which is the standard protocol followed by the YPD in instances of officer-involved shootings. Investigations of the incidents are underway.
YPD Captain Jeff Schneider, who is serving as acting Chief of Police while Chief of Police Dominic Rizzi in on vacation, will present information during the news conference.
The names of the suspects involved in the two incidents will be provided by the Yakima County Coroner’s office once family members have been notified.
At approximately 7:00 pm on Tuesday, December 25th, YPD officers responded to a call in the 300 block of West Pierce Street regarding reports of an intoxicated man claiming he had shot people. Once on the scene, officers entered the 28-year-old suspect’s house. The officers located the suspect inside the house. The suspect had placed a gun to his head and threatened to cause himself harm. Officers backed out of the house and awaited backup. The suspect then fired several shots in the direction of the officers.
Following more than five hours of negotiations with the suspect, he again fired at officers. A member of the YPD SWAT team returned fire, killing the suspect.
At approximately 7:30 pm on Tuesday, December 25th, YPD officers responded to a call at the Cascade Apartments (20 East S Sgt Pendleton Way) regarding reports of a man threatening fellow residents with a gun. Once on the scene, officers discovered a 31-year-old suspect had barricaded himself in his apartment and was acting erratically.
Following more than five hours of negotiations with the suspect, officers entered his apartment and continued to negotiate with him. The incident situation deteriorated rapidly. Two YPD officers shot at the suspect, who died as a result of his wounds.
The Pierce Street incident is under investigation by the Washington State Patrol. Because neighboring law enforcement agencies are currently unable to provide personnel to investigate the Cascade Apartments incident, YPD detectives are conducting that investigation.
Additional information will be provided as it become available.
News Conference – Dec. 26th YPD Officer-Involved Shootings – News Release