5 Killed in a Week in Washington Police Encounters

SEATTLE (AP) -- A deadly week in the Puget Sound area continued Saturday with the death of a 25-year-old Sultan man in a confrontation with Snohomish County sheriff's deputies.
The early morning incident was the sixth violent encounter for police in as many days.
The Snohomish County sheriff's office said two deputies responded to a call about a man causing a disturbance in Gold Bar, about 25 miles east of Everett. When they arrived they were immediately confronted by a man who charged them and fought them to the ground, the office said in a news release.
After one of the deputies used his stun gun on the man, the officers discovered he was not breathing and immediately started CPR. Paramedics took him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The name of the man was not immediately released. Investigators were trying to determine what caused him to act as he did.
The sheriff's office said the deputies have been place on paid administrative leave, standard in such incidents.
Friday night Seattle police shot and wounded a 59-year-old man they say had leveled a rifle at them.
Deputy Chief Nick Metz said that when the man, who had been described as suicidal, came out from a West Seattle house, officers say he had what appeared to be an assault rifle. The man pointed the weapon and three officers fired, Metz said.
The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center. Police said he was in stable condition.
Earlier Friday, Tacoma police fatally shot a man at a bus stop. Police Chief Don Ramsdell said the man was waving a knife, ignored officers' commands to drop it and raised it in a ``threatening gesture.'' The two officers were about 7 feet from the man when they fired.
The chief said he was confident the use of force was appropriate. The man was not immediately identified.
On Tuesday, Federal Way police fatally shot David Charles Young, 23, who was driving a stolen truck and reportedly tried to run down an officer who approached him.
Also on Tuesday, Pierce County sheriff's deputies used a stun gun on a 27-year-old man who reportedly was causing a disturbance at a Spanaway apartment complex.
A few minutes later, deputies noticed the man was having trouble breathing. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died. An autopsy was inconclusive; the Pierce County medical examiner is still assessing the cause of death.
On Monday, a Seattle police officer fatally shot John T. Williams, 50, a First Nations totem carver, in downtown Seattle. Officer Ian Birk saw Williams with a knife and repeatedly ordered him to drop it just before shooting Williams four times from a distance of 9 to 10 feet.
The Seattle Times says Williams had told people he was deaf in one ear, and often had trouble understanding what was said to him.
Native American and Canadian First Nations leaders called a news conference Friday to demand a full investigation into Williams' death.
``It is a very tragic event, and it is being fully investigated in a manner that is consistent with long and well-established process, and ultimately the facts of the case will all be made public,'' Seattle police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said.