CLE ELUM — A 60-year-old Port Townsend man was shot and killed by police in Cle Elum after pointing a gun at an officer, police told area news agencies.
Timothy Meehan was shot Wednesday after he ignored several commands to drop his weapon by an officer of the Cle Elum-Roslyn police force, the Yakima Herald reported.
The officer, who was not identified, was investigating a report about a possible suicidal man staying at the Stewart Lodge, a resort hotel in downtown Cle Elum in Kittitas County, according to the newspaper.
Port Townsend Detective Luke Bogues said Meehan had lived in the Cape George area and had four minor contacts with police in the past few years.
The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting, The Seattle Times said, adding that the officer, who was described as having been on the force for more than three years, is on administrative leave while the investigation proceeds.
When police knocked on Meehan’s door in Cle Elum, he came out of the room and pointed a gun at one of the responding officers, said the newspaper, citing a news release from the Cle Elum-Roslyn-South Cle Elum Police Department.
The officer reportedly fired two shots after Meehan ignored multiple orders to drop the gun.
Meehan was pronounced dead after his arrival at Kittitas Valley Healthcare hospital in Ellensburg, according to the Ellensburg Daily Record.
The department asked the sheriff’s office to investigate the shooting, Undersheriff Clay Myers told The Seattle Times.
An autopsy has been scheduled, but Myers said he did not know when it was to take place.
Court records show that Meehan pleaded guilty in 1996 to fourth-degree assault in King County District Court in Renton, The Seattle Times said.
Cle Elum Police Chief Scott Ferguson was not available for comment Friday or Saturday.
