A judge found probable cause Wednesday to hold a 37-year-old man on investigation of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Bothell police Officer Jonathan Shoop on Monday night.
King County District Court Judge Joe Campagna also found probable cause to hold Henry E. Washington on investigation of first-degree assault for allegedly shooting and injuring a second officer; vehicular assault for allegedly hitting a man on a scooter with his vehicle; and attempting to elude police.
Campagna agreed to impose a no-bail hold on Washington, who was arrested early Tuesday after he was found hiding on a rooftop hours after Shoop was fatally shot, according to police.
A medical issue prevented Washington from attending his first court appearance and jail staff declined to transport him to court due to coronavirus precautions, defense attorney Amy Parker told the judge, who presided by video. No further details about Washington’s medical status were shared with the court.
According to the probable-cause statement outlining the police case against Washington, Shoop, who was in training, was driving a marked police SUV with his field-training officer in the front passenger seat.
The officers made a traffic stop just after 9:40 p.m. Monday, pulling over a black Pontiac G6 because it didn’t have license plates, the statement says. The driver had been traveling eastbound on Highway 522 and as Shoop approached the driver’s-side window, the driver quickly accelerated through a traffic light, striking a man on a scooter in the crosswalk at Bothell Way Northeast and Woodinville Drive, according to the statement.
The man on the scooter suffered a broken leg but his injuries are not life-threatening, the statement says.
A witness shot video that shows Washington outside his car as the patrol vehicle approached the intersection and stopped, the statement says. Other witnesses later told police the driver yelled, “Come on, pigs,” as he quickly moved around the front of the patrol car and fired two shots into the police SUV through the driver’s-side window, according to the statement.
Shoop was shot in the head and died at the scene, the statement says. His field-training officer, who returned fire from inside the patrol car, suffered a graze wound to the head, it says.
The shooter ran from the scene as the patrol car rolled forward, careening into the Pontiac and slowly rolling through the intersection before coming to rest against a tree, according to the probable-cause statement.
While additional officers were responding, they learned Washington called police in Junction City, Kansas, identified himself and described hitting the man on the scooter and shooting the officers, the statement says. It’s unclear why he made that call.
Police say Washington claimed he shot the officers in self-defense to keep them from taking his vehicle, marijuana and gun, according to the statement.
Washington, who is homeless, was arrested nearby, the statement says. Police have previously said he was found hiding on a rooftop and was arrested at 3:20 a.m. Tuesday.
According to the probable-cause statement, Washington’s driver’s license was issued in Texas.
He is expected to be criminally charged Friday.
The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team (SMART) is investigating the shooting. In a Tuesday news release, Officer Aaron Snell, an Everett police spokesperson, wrote the suspected gunman was arrested in the 10000 block of Main Street after he attempted to get off a rooftop but became wedged between two buildings.
Shoop, 32, previously served in the U.S. Coast Guard and worked for Washington State Ferries and Amazon before he was hired by Bothell police last year.
Shoop was remembered as a “local kid through and through” who enjoyed hiking and seeing his nieces and nephews. He grew up in Seattle as the youngest of three brothers and attended Ballard High School before studying history at the University of Washington, his brother, Evan Shoop, said Tuesday.
Shoop is survived by his longtime partner, his mother and two brothers, according to his family and the Bothell Police Department. Shoop is believed to be the first Bothell police officer shot and killed in the line of duty in recent memory.
Seattle Times staff reporter Paige Cornwell contributed to this story.