Investigators say they have recovered a knife from the scene where an Olympia police officer fatally shot a man on Monday.
The officer reportedly shot the 37-year-old man after reports of a disturbance at a Starbucks near Martin Way and Sleater Kinney Road. Police say the man approached them with a knife.
Laura Wohl, a spokesperson for the law enforcement team investigating the shooting, told The Olympian investigators recovered a folding knife from the scene, but she was unable to describe it further.
Some witnesses previously told KIRO 7 they did not see a knife during the incident. And investigators did not say Monday whether they had located it.
The Capital Metro Independent Investigative Team, the group reviewing the shooting, is being led by Tumwater, but includes law enforcement from the Lacey and Yelm police departments. It released an update on the shooting on Wednesday. The release details the events leading up to the shooting from the perspective of law enforcement.
According to the release, Olympia police responded to a call at 10:20 a.m. about a "disorderly man" at a Starbucks on the 4000 block of Martin Way East. The release says the man refused to leave the store and had locked himself in the bathroom.
The man eventually exited the bathroom but "continued to be disruptive." He reportedly appeared agitated and shouted, according to the release.
When officers arrived, the release says the man left the Starbucks and walked into traffic on Martin Way East, shouting while officers attempted to convince him to get out of the road.
Based on these actions, the officers developed probable cause to arrest him for disorderly conduct. At one point, the release says the man started walking toward the officers and they attempted to engage him again.
Witnesses reportedly told investigators the man held a knife in one hand and a book in the other as he walked toward the officers. Officers responded by telling him to drop the knife several times, according to the release.
Two officers attempted to use tasers on the man, but the release says their tasers were not effective. A third officer then shot the man with his handgun as he continued to "advance" towards him, according to the release.
After the shooting, officers requested medics and tried to aid the man. When medics arrived, they took the man to Providence St. Peter Hospital where he later died from his injuries.
No officers were injured during the incident, according to the release.
The officer who fired his weapon has been placed on paid administrative leave for the duration of the investigation, Wohl said. He has worked at the Olympia Police Department for three years, according to the release.
Investigators later learned the man had allegedly tried to steal alcohol from an adjacent gas station prior to the incident at the Starbucks.
He made "threatening statements" and acted "erratically" at the station, according to the release. In response, employees reportedly used pepper spray to get him to leave the store.
