washington state police shot dead The man was the one they confronted during a sting operation aimed at catching online child predators.
The fatal incident occurred at the DoubleTree Suites Hotel in Tukwila on April 17 around 3 p.m.
The Seattle Police Department said the 67-year-old man believed he was meeting two girls, ages 7 and 11, in a hotel room. When the man was confronted by members of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, he appeared to pull a gun from his pocket and was shot.
“A struggle ensued,” SPD Deputy Chief Eric Burden said at a news conference. “Two officers fired, striking the suspect.”
Police released body camera footage from the incident. One police officer was injured in the leg during the shooting and was treated for minor injuries.
A witness to the shooting, Eric Wehrmeister from Texas, told KING-TV what he saw.
“I heard a loud pop and thought it was maintenance. A few seconds later there was another pop, followed by a series of gunshots,” Wehrmeister said. “I turned around and saw someone shooting into the floor. That’s when I ran from the kitchen into the hallway and barricaded myself in one of the offices.”
When he called 911, he learned that police were already at the hotel.
“Shortly after, plainclothes police officers were seen in the lobby,” Wehrmeister added.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
This video was edited by many news outlets, long version The footage was published by the Policing Channel on YouTube.
dead man was later identified He plays Bruce Koval Menery, a retired Navy doctor. The man served at Guantanamo Bay and spoke to the New York Times in 2016 about abuses at the base.
Menely was arrested in 2017 in a prostitution sting, and police said his phone number was linked to two other prostitution investigations. In an interview with investigators at the time, Menery acknowledged that he had been arrested on similar charges in Texas, but that his sentence was diverted to community service.
The video of the shooting is below.
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