SEKIU — A Clallam County sheriff’s deputy was wounded Monday in a shoot-out with an apparent squatter at a beachfront cabin along state Highway 112 west of Sekiu.
The man, who the cabin owners say was trespassing inside, was also wounded when the veteran deputy, Bill Cortani, returned fire after the lawman had been shot twice.
Scott Lincoln Davis, 59, of Silverdale, was reported to be in critical condition Monday night at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Cortani, 41, an 18-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, was not seriously injured, Benedict said.
The deputy was shot once in the arm and once in the hip and was wearing a protective vest, the sheriff said.
“He is going to be fine,” Benedict said.
Cortani had responded to a trespassing call on Highway 112 near Milepost 7 between Neah Bay and Sekiu about 1:30 p.m. Monday.
The cabin’s owners, Dave and Sue Sperline of Redmond, were notified earlier by an employee of the neighboring Ray’s Grocery, 7621 Highway 112, that a man had been in the store saying that he was going to stay in the cabin.
The Sperlines began driving to their cabin.
“On their way, they called us — and that is when Cortani headed over there,” Sheriff Benedict said.
When Cortani arrived at the cabin at 1:32 p.m. and went inside, intending to arrest Davis, the man allegedly shot Cortani at least twice with a handgun, Benedict said.
Undersheriff Ron Peregrin, at the scene late Monday afternoon, said Cortani ran out of the cabin and hid behind some beach driftwood.
Dispatchers notified
Only then did he realize he was wounded and radioed dispatchers that he and Davis had exchanged shots.
“The man then went to his car and got a double-barrel shotgun apparently to finish [Cortani] off,” Benedict said.
“That is when Cortani shot him a couple of times.”
Davis fired at Cortani with the 12-gauge shotgun and missed before being hit, Benedict said.
Benedict said he was not sure of the extent of Davis’ wounds.
After shooting Davis, Cortani radioed for backup law enforcement.
“He held him there at gunpoint for about 20 or 30 minutes until the backup arrived,” Benedict said.
“At that time, a couple Department of Fish and Wildlife officers and Brian King, who is the West End Clallam County sergeant, arrived.”
Flown to hospital
Both men were flown by Airlift Northwest to Harborview Medical Center.
A woman who said she witnessed the incident from Ray’s Grocery and declined to give her name said Davis had kneeled down on the beach and shot at Cortani before he returned fire.
She said the man had been in the grocery store earlier, saying he had nowhere to go and that he planned to stay in the shuttered cabin.
He called himself “Sir Francis Drake” and “Phillip,” the woman said.
The cabin was closed and locked because water pipes had burst during last month’s extended cold snap.
Benedict said Davis has no criminal history with local law enforcement and that he was new to the area.
Peregrin said none of the responding officers knew of him, and that Davis’ background would be researched by two Washington State Patrol detectives dispatched from the Bremerton office to investigate.
When a shooting happens involving an officer from a law enforcement agency, a different agency conducts the investigation.
“The State Patrol will oversee the investigation,” Benedict said, adding that the two detectives were at the scene Monday night.
State Patrol spokeswoman Trooper Krista Hedstrom said the detectives were delayed getting to the scene because a portion of Highway 112 between Joyce and Clallam Bay was washed out from recent storms.
They and other law enforcement officers from Port Angeles had to detour through Beaver and up state Highway 113.
Responding to the scene were officers from the Port Angeles Police Department, Neah Bay Tribal Police and Forks Police Department as well as the Sheriff’s Department and State Patrol.
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Clallam Bay/Sekiu correspondent Donna Barr contributed to this report.
Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
