FORKS — The man who was shot Sunday by Forks police — who say he charged them with a sword and what looked like a handgun — remained Monday night in Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
John F. Young, 45, of 30 Valley Court Road, was airlifted Sunday to Harborview with four gunshot wounds,
Forks Police Chief Mike Powell said Monday that Young had stated he wanted to commit “suicide by cop.”
In a confrontation that preceded the shooting, Young charged a Clallam County sheriff’s deputy saying he wanted the officer to shoot him in the head, according to Forks police.
Last Oct. 20, Young and his wife, Michelle, were burned out of their home in the Elk Creek Mobile Home Park on Calawah Way in Forks.
At the time, Young told the PDN the couple were using candles and a propane stove to light and heat their home after their power was turned off for delinquent payments.
A lighted candle in the bedroom was blamed for the fire that started when the Youngs were outside the house.
The home was uninsured.
Young said after the fire six months ago that he was unemployed but doing odd jobs. However, he lost most of his tools in the blaze, he said.
His bizarre encounter with law enforcement officers began about 9:30 p.m. Saturday when Forks police began pursuing a 1996 Subaru for exceeding the speed limit by 14 mph.
The chase reached speeds of 95 mph before the officers quit the pursuit near Beaver.
“For 14 [mph] over, the risk to the public was worse than the speeding,” Powell said.
At about 11 p.m., Clallam County sheriff’s deputies spotted the Subaru in the Elk Creek area and asked Forks officers to join them.
Powell said Young got out of car and damaged the Forks cruiser and the sheriff’s car, breaking their light bars and tail lights with a 3-foot kitana, or samurai, sword.
According to police, he also damaged the hood of the sheriff’s cruiser with nunchucks, which are hardwood sticks joined by a short chain that are used in martial arts.
Taser malfunctioned
While one deputy backed off from Young, another deputy tried to stun him with a Taser. The device malfunctioned, and Young returned to his car and fled, officers said.
Law enforcement agencies throughout the region were alerted that Young allegedly wanted to be killed. Forks police, sheriff’s deputies and Washington State Patrol troopers searched for him.
Forks police spotted Young driving north on Spartan Avenue in Forks at about 1 a.m. Sunday. They chased him east on Calawah Way, where Young pulled the Subaru to the shoulder and got out of his car, police said, holding the sword and what appeared to be a handgun.
The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun very similar in appearance to a semiautomatic pistol, Powell said.
Young advanced on the officers and pointed it at them, police said. They fired their .40 caliber service handguns and struck Young in the abdomen, kneecap, forearm and hand.
