A Clark County sheriff’s deputy stabbed to death a drunk-driving suspect who allegedly tried to grab the deputy’s gun during a scuffle at a state police weigh station.
The suspect, whose name hasn’t been released, had been arrested at about 11 p.m. Wednesday after allegedly crashing into two parked cars. He was taken to the Washington State Patrol weigh station in Ridgefield, the sheriff’s office said.
At about 11:30 p.m., officials reported, the deputy and the suspect arrived at the weigh station building, where deputies planned to use a breath-alcohol analyzer on the suspect.
“While in the breath-test room at the Scale House facility, at around 11:58 p.m., a CCSO deputy reported over the radio that he was actively in a physical altercation with the subject,” the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “The deputy reported that the subject had attempted to take his firearm during the altercation, and the deputy stabbed the suspect several times.”
Medical personnel and others provided first aid to the suspect, but he was declared dead at 12:39 a.m., the sheriff’s office said.
The deputy, whose name hasn’t yet been released, was uninjured and has been put on leave while the incident is investigated.
The Washington State Office of Independent Investigations will be in charge of the investigation.