Crime & Safety
Edmonds Police Use Taser to Subdue Man Who Had Pants Around His Knees
Suspect had been seen at local schools and reportedly was about to burglarize a home.
The suspect told police pepper spray would not work on him and suggested they use guns. Instead, Edmonds police officers tased the man, who was immediately subdued and arrested on a number of charges.
Here’s what happened:
On Tuesday just before 5 p.m., Edmonds police officers responded to a call of a reported trespasser in the backyard of a home in the 7400 block of 210th Street SW, said Edmonds Police Sgt. Mike Blackburn. The homeowner believed the suspect may have been preparing to burglarize her home.
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As it turned out, a Lynnwood Police sergeant had been watching the same suspicious man after he had been seen earlier behind College Place middle and elementary schools, which are both in Lynnwood.
Students on the playfield of the middle school noticed the suspicious man and notified a teacher. The teacher, said Blackburn, said he saw the suspect's pants pulled down around his knees, although he was still wearing underwear.
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Lynnwood Police officers quickly responded, where they located the suspect and ordered him to leave the school.
While the Edmonds woman was calling 911 about the trespasser at her home, the Lynnwood Police sergeant watched the man as he walked around the back of the residence. Given that the woman’s 911 call was now being dispatched, police officers responded to the backyard of her home and observed the suspect standing outside the kitchen window.
When the man noticed the officers approaching him, he squared off in a fighting stance, fists up, and challenged them to fight. Faced with this threat, the officers drew their pepper spray and ordered the man to stop. Instead, the suspect informed them that pepper spray wouldn’t work and suggested they use their guns.
Since the suspect was advancing on the officers they turned their tazers on him, which resulted in his immediate compliance.
The suspect, a 42-year-old transient, was taken into custody and transported to an area hospital as a precautionary measure. Once it was confirmed that he sustained no significant injury, the man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail.
Criminal charges include felony possession of illegal drugs.