Skip to content

Long Beach: Washington State Trooper Shot in the Head

February 15th, 2010, incident report by Megan Montplaisir

  • February 13, 2010
  • 0
  • 1
  • Highway 103
  • Long Beach
  • WA
  • 98631

"Johnson was shot shortly before 1 a.m. as he was taking inventory of the contents of a vehicle before it was to be towed. The driver had been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, and was being driven by another state trooper to a police station for investigation.

 

An unidentified man walked up to Johnson and a tow-truck driver and exchanged words with them. Johnson acknowledged the man, then turned around to continue searching the car, according to the State Patrol. The shooter pulled a gun and fired twice at Johnson, Hedstrom said. One bullet apparently grazed the trooper's ear, and the other lodged in the back of his head, said State Patrol Sgt. Freddy Williams.

Johnson fired back at the gunman as he fled, but it isn't known if he was hit. Investigators have found no indication he was hit, but sent alerts to area hospitals to be on the lookout for a gunshot wound victim....

The suspect was described by Johnson and the tow truck driver as being between 35- and 40-years-old, unshaven, between 5-foot-10 and 5-foot-11, 185 to 200 pounds, wearing a dark insulated shirt and possibly a knit cap."

Trooper is in stable condition w/ a bullet still in his head and was taken to Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland.

© Seattle Times

By Keith Ervin and Jonathan Martin