Skagit County Sheriff Deputy Injured In Struggle With Suspect

Skagit County, Washington- A Skagit County Sheriff’s Deputy is recovering from an injury sustained while wrestling with a suspect who attacked him.

The unidentified Deputy responded to 9-1-1 reports from a neighbor of a weapons offense in the 5000 block of State Route 20 around 3:45 pm on Wednesday, September 28th, 2016.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the deputy responded to the residence and spoke with three people. A male and a female identified themselves to the deputy but a third person provided the deputy with a false name.

The deputy told the man who provided the fake name that  he would be detained until he could confirm his identity.  The man then ran from the Deputy and the Deputy gave chase on foot.

The Deputy was able to grab a hold of the man who continued to resist arrest and the two fell down an embankment with the suspect landing on top of the Deputy.  The Deputy continued to attempt to detain the man who resisted arrest and fought with the Deputy, assaulting him.

The Deputy was able to get to his feet and ordered the suspect  to stop resisting. The man failed to comply and the Deputy deployed his department issued Taser, which had no affect on the suspect.

The suspect again took off running and was able to make it back to a vehicle and fled the scene. The Deputy called for backup from neighboring Law Enforcement agencies who responded to assist but they were unable to immediately locate the suspect.

Medics were called to stage in the area and a  medic unit  picked up the injured Deputy and transported him to Island Hospital for treatment for injuries to his back. The Deputy has since been released from the Hospital.

Deputies have probable cause to refer the suspect for Assault 3rd on a Police Officer and will refer the suspect for charges as  they are believed to have identified him.