Police swarm Ridgecrest after distraught resident pulls gun on tow truck driver

Photo by Steven H. Robinson

The Ridgecrest neighborhood was swarming with police, some in full tactical gear, Wednesday afternoon, November 23, 2022 after an elderly male resident stopped a tow truck driver from taking his work truck by pulling a gun.

The driver called the police, which prompted a full multi-agency police response. The situation became more tense when the resident confronted the first deputy to make contact with a shotgun.

Shoreline police, Kenmore police, fire and aid units, all responded to the scene.

A staging area, supervised by Shoreline Police Captain Kelly Park, was set up at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in the 16500 block of 8th NE, and police converged on the home on 9th NE.

911 dispatch alerted Sound Transit and Metro police, who offered their services, as well as the crisis management team.

Close to 30 units were in the neighborhood. The school district was notified and one of the Sound Transit police went to Meridian Park Elementary to make sure that traffic stayed well away from the scene as students were getting out of school for the day.

The resident refused to leave his house, but was eventually talked out with no further incident and no one hurt. He was arrested on a felony brandishing charge and booked into King county jail.

Police obtained a search warrant for his home and removed his weapons. The resident was released from jail and returned home. Police are continuing their investigation and will be referring information to the prosecutor so charges can be filed.

Shoreline Police will be working with the RADAR unit to discuss outreach plans for the resident.

Capt. Park said that she is very pleased at the police response and inter-agency cooperation and is even more pleased at the outcome, with no one injured.

--Diane Hettrick