Police Kill Man On The Seattle Waterfront

SEATTLE — Seattle police shot and killed a man on the Seattle waterfront Tuesday night while responding to reports of a person in crisis armed with a knife, according to the police department.

In a press briefing, a police spokesperson said the Port of Seattle Police Department reported a man with a kitchen knife in the area of Alaskan Way and Seneca Street, between Pier 55 and 56, shortly before 9:20 p.m.

In a news release, Seattle police said officers found the man with apparently self-inflected knife wounds before he fled down Alaskan Way. The police department said two officers approached him and attempted to use an unidentified "less-lethal tool" to subdue him. The officers said he moved toward them, and both fired gunshots, fatally striking him.

The Office of Police Accountability, Office of Inspector General and the department's Force Investigation Team were called to the scene, and both officers will be on paid leave pending the investigation's outcome. SPD said footage of the shooting would be released within 72 hours.

Tuesday night's shooting comes just one week after police fatally shot a man near Jimi Hendrix Park, suspected of shooting two women sitting in a vehicle in a nearby parking lot.

The Seattle Police Department has faced renewed scrutiny into its use of force practices in recent months, and community demands in the wake of summer protests have included removing armed officers from the equation when responding to mental health emergencies. Such encounters have repeatedly led to fatal police shootings, including the deaths of Charleena Lyles, Terry Caver and Ryan Smith.

The man killed Tuesday night will be formally identified by the King County Medical Examiner's Office. The police department has not identified either officer who fired shots.