Washington State Patrol trooper Terry Brunstad was recognized Thursday by WSP Chief John Batiste in Vancouver for his efforts earlier this year to save a suicidal man in Lewis County.
Washington State Patrol trooper Terry Brunstad was recognized Thursday by WSP Chief John Batiste in Vancouver for his efforts earlier this year to save a suicidal man in Lewis County.
“The patience and professionalism displayed by all of the officers involved and especially by Trooper Brunstad allowed a very dangerous situation to be resolved in a peaceful manner with no injuries to any law enforcement or the suspect,” according to the nomination form submitted in June by WSP Capt. Jason Linn. “This was the best-case scenario for a resolution.”
Brunstad was working in Lewis County on March 30 when he stopped a motorhome on northbound Interstate 5.
He stopped the vehicle for improper lane travel and the driver gave an identification card that was clearly not his own. Troopers later learned it belonged to his deceased father.
Brunstad noticed the driver had a large hunting knife strapped to his leg and asked him to remove it. The driver was compliant initially.
After completing paperwork and requesting another unit to respond due to his suspicion that the driver presented false information, Brunstad went back to the man’s vehicle and saw that he had strapped the knife back to his leg.
The man refused to remove the knife and step out of the vehicle. He then placed the blade of the knife to his throat, according to the Brunstad’s nomination.
“Trp. Brunstad talked to the driver in an effort to get him to drop the knife,” according to the nomination.
Brunstad continued to talk to the man while other units arrived. One trooper tried to hit the man with a Taser but was unsuccessful.
After two and a half hours of negotiations, with the help of a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office sergeant, the driver agreed to put the knife down.
Officers at the scene stayed with the man for another 30 minutes while he calmed down and then took him into custody for a state Department of Corrections warrant.
“I believe Trooper Brunstad deserves recognition for his exceptional actions that day. It was his ability to remain calm and go above and beyond his normal duties, and use the resources around him to defuse and resolve this very volatile situation in the best possible way,” Linn wrote.
