Investigators ID officer who shot and killed Lacey resident in SWAT incident
Investigators have identified a Lacey police officer who shot and killed a resident during an alleged armed confrontation last week.
Officer David MacLurg, 39, shot Kaleb Lewis, 30, multiple times after 5 p.m. Jan. 21 at an apartment complex in the 4600 block of 45th Avenue Southeast in Lacey, according to the Tuesday news release from the Washington State Office of Independent Investigations.
Law enforcement alleged Lewis barricaded himself in an apartment and fired shots, prompting a response from the Thurston County SWAT Team. MacLurg, who serves on the SWAT Team, fired at Lewis after Lewis allegedly raised his firearm toward law enforcement, OII spokesperson Hector Castro previously told The Olympian.
MacLurg has worked for the Lacey Police Department for 11 years and is currently assigned to the Community Resource Unit as a member of the department’s Special Investigations Response Team, per the release.
MacLurg has been placed on paid administrative leave in accordance with standard practice for these types of incidents, Lacey police spokesperson Sgt. Derek Thompson said last week.
Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock determined Lewis died from multiple gunshot wounds and ruled his manner of death a homicide. He clarified to The Olympian on Sunday that “homicide” is a classification and does not mean a crime has been committed.
OII will eventually publish a report detailing what happened and how they investigated the shooting, Castro previously said.
That report, along with a larger investigation file, will be submitted to the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Castro said. Prosecuting Attorney Jon Tunheim will then decide whether to file charges against MacLurg, he said.
Anyone with information about the shooting can call the OII tip line at 564-263-0280.
