Centralia Officer Shoots ‘Staff’-Wielding Trespass Suspect

A Centralia police officer shot a person allegedly threatening officers with what was described as a large walking stick Thursday night in a parking lot in the 600 block of South Tower Avenue in Centralia. 

The person was shot twice and as of just before 10 p.m. Thursday was in surgery at an area hospital. 

The Mason County Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency investigating the incident, as part of the Region 3 Critical Incident Investigation Team. 

Assistant Chief Stacy Denham of the Centralia Police Department said police initially responded at about 7 p.m. that night to a report of a trespasser in the Fuller’s Shop’n Kart in the 500 block of South Tower Avenue. The suspect reportedly had been previously banned from the shop. 

When police arrived, they located the suspect in the parking lot of the 1st Security Bank in the 600 block of South Tower Avenue. The suspect was reportedly holding what Denham described as a large walking stick or staff, approximately five feet tall. The suspect allegedly threatened officers with the staff. 

“The officers tried to de-escalate the situation, which didn’t work,” he said. 

The two officers on the scene then deployed a Taser, which didn’t subdue the suspect either. Denham said he didn’t know why the Taser wasn’t effective. 

A third officer responded, and when the suspect again made threats with the staff, Denham said the third officer shot the suspect two times. 

Neither the person shot nor the officer have been identified. Denham said the officer has been with the police department for four years. 

The officer will be on administrative leave pending the resolution of the investigation by the Mason County Sheriff’s Office. 

All three officers involved were with the Centralia Police Department, Denham confirmed.