Sheriff's deputy shoots man in Yelm, sheriff says

A Thurston County sheriff's deputy shot and injured a man when responding to a car fire in Yelm, according to deputies.

A lone deputy responded to a car fire call around 9 a.m. Thursday at a property flagged" for "prior violent criminal activity," according to a news release from the sheriff's office. Firefighters did not respond alone to the fire due to that, the news release said.

The deputy arrived and told a man to step away from the car on fire, before the man allegedly charged at the deputy, the news release says. Body camera footage released by the sheriff's office shows the deputy tell the man, whom he addresses by name, that the Fire Department is there and he needs to step away from the fire.

"I don't want you to get hurt," the deputy says. "I don't give a (expletive)," the man responds. "I'm going to be dead anyway."

The man runs at the deputy before running back toward the fire, and the deputy calls for backup. He continues commanding the man to move away, before the man screams "Go to (expletive) hell" and appears to pull something from his jacket. The deputy fires several shots.

The man's injuries are believed to not be life-threatening, the release says. After the deputy fired shots, the man laid on the ground and said "I'm sorry. Moments later, he tells the deputy to kill him.

The deputy radios to dispatch that he needs a union representative to respond.

After backup deputies arrive, the man is detained and the officer removes what appears to be a firearm from a hip holster, the footage shows.

The man was taken to the hospital, and nobody else was injured.

The deputy was placed on administrative leave pending completion of an independent investigation, according to the news release.

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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 6:36 AM.