SW Wash. deputy fatally shot; suspect killed

(Update: Suspect in fatal shooting of deputy killed; more details)

SEATTLE (AP) – A southwest Washington sheriff’s deputy was fatally shot while responding to a report of a disabled vehicle Saturday night, and authorities said they shot and killed the suspect less than 24 hours later.

The Seattle Times reports 29-year-old Cowlitz County Deputy Justin DeRosier died at a Vancouver, Washington, hospital late Saturday night.

Cowlitz County Sheriff Brad Thurman told the Longview Daily News that the suspect in DeRosier’s death was shot and killed by police Sunday evening and two others were taken into custody in connection with the investigation.

Sunday evening, officers responded to a report of a suspicious person near Spencer Creek Road in Kalama, Washington, and shots were fired when they engaged with the suspect at the scene, the sheriff’s office said.

The suspect was killed in the gunfire exchange. No officers were injured, the sheriff’s office said.

Police have not released the name of the suspect.

The sheriff’s office says the investigation into the shooting is being handled by the Vancouver Police Department.

The deputy was sent to investigate a vehicle blocking a rural road northeast of Kalama. He was shot shortly after 10 p.m. Saturday.

Thurman the Longeview paper the fatal shooting is believed to be the first death for an officer in the line of duty in the history of the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office.

DeRosier is survived by his wife and 5-month-old daughter, his first child.

He was a 2012 graduate of Washington State University and a deputy since 2016.