SUICIDE BOMBER WAS A METH "FREQUENT FLYER";

UNDERSCORES NEED TO DEVELOP A SULTAN "DEATH TO METH" STRATEGY

When someone says, "suicide bomber," the first thing that jumps to mind is not a man trying to kill himself by strapping explosives to his body. But that's just what happened early last Sunday morning (November 23^rd) in the dead of night when a Sultan Resident (name currently withheld) tried to commit suicide by attempting to goad Sultan police into killing him.

Police Commander J. C. Becker and Officer Jay Cook were on duty and handled the situation, with an assist from Sheriff's Deputy Frank Hawkins (husband of new Gold Bar Mayor Colleen Hawkins). It occurred in the back yard of a home located at 132^nd & Gohr Road, beginning around 2 a.m. Sunday morning.

The police report reads, in part, (with a bit of enhancement for readability), as follows:

Received 911 call threatening suicide. Subject's sister was in front of the house talking with 911, saying that the suspect (no formal charges have yet been made as 11/25) was in their backyard using some kind of object [to kill himself]. While officers were en route, sister advised police that the subject had hooked himself up to an explosive device.

Officers arrived in a couple of minutes and Deputy Frank Hawkins from Sheriff's office joined them. They approached the individual, with the sister screaming saying he had a bomb in his mouth and was trying to kill himself. She was obviously very upset; she was screaming. As police approached the rear of the house, the subject was in the backyard holding something, but it also appeared that he had an object wired to mouth and chest and appeared to be wearing headphones. He repeatedly refused to put items down. He said he was going to blow himself up. Subject refused to discuss the situation, but suggested to the police that they, "just shoot me or I will blow us all up, too."

Police (two of whom are trained crisis negotiators) then began negotiating with the subject. One officer moved slowly into close proximity and tried to use the Taser on the subject, but it became hung up in the suspect's heavy clothing and was ineffective.

The suspect then ran into the house. Police knew he had weapons in the house, so they went into a "wait and see" mode [rather than trying to enter] and discussed plans for his next possible action. It was clear the situation seemed to be escalating. The suspect's mother was inside the house at the time.

Suspect reappeared in the backyard. Officers decided he could not return to the house (because of the weapons his sister had indicated he had). The police attempted to resume negotiations for his surrender. The suspect continued to insist that police shoot him, and continued threatening them with the bomb. The suspect made quick movements toward them to try and induce their shooting.

At one point he removed a bomb from his mouth to smoke a cigarette. When he did so, he also put the detonator down to light the cigarette. An officer approached him from the rear, rushed and tackled him applied OC pepper gas spray. The spray was effective, temporarily disabling the individual and his eyesight, and police where able to knock him to the ground. Commander J. C. Becker then handcuffed him and broke loose the device the suspect had. He had a model rocket igniter at the base of his pipe, which he used to try and set it off but it didn't work.

Transported to the Colby Campus Psychiatric ward at Providence Hospital, for a mental evaluation. Early Sunday the hospital notified SPD that they were releasing the suspect because he "did not appear to be a threat to himself or others." (Chief Walser was incredulous about their determination, and said to me, "I just could not believe that." (No kidding, Fred.)

Commander Becker went to the hospital, and arrested the subject, pending investigation of explosive device and other charges, with the prosecutor. After working graveyard on Saturday night, it was Becker's day off, but because Colleen was the only officer on duty and couldn't leave, Becker followed through on the action that was required.

Commander Becker then contacted an Evergreen District Court judge and obtained a search warrant for the suspect's residence, whereupon he and another officer went to the residence and served the search warrant. During a search, they found additional bomb-making material, a completed bomb, and other items of interest, such as security items, a police radio and (suspected) methamphetamines.

Chief Walser said the suspect and his girlfriend have a history with SPD as they are known meth "frequent flyers." Police suspect was despondent over the fact that his girlfriend had either left him or had threatened to leave. They also suspected he was "tweaking" on meth, meaning he was having a delusional episode.

Walser said he could not confirm whether or not the suspect had been tested either for drugs or alcohol at the hospital. {We would certainly hope that this would be S.O.P. at the hospital in a case such as this.}

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The use of meth and its off-the-scale negative societal effects, is everyone's problem, not just the police. With "Daisy, the Drug-sniffing Dog," the Sultan Police are hoping to formulate a "Death to Meth" strategy to keep Sultan a safe place to live. Fred told me that Derek Boyd had seen this story on KIRO TV and was shocked that something like this could "happen in Sultan." Meth is relatively easy to make and "affordable," and widespread, taking it to the top of the chart when it comes to endangering families and communities. Everyone needs to get smarter quicker to find out how to recognize meth use and labs, and work with the police to drive this threat out of our community.