Two sheriff's deputies shot near Seattle

Monday afternoon, a suspected car thief was fatally shot at a Woodinville, Washington apartment complex after he allegedly opened fire on two King County Sheriff's Office deputies, who returned fire, killing the suspect. Both deputies were wounded during the shooting, which occurred shortly after 12 p.m. near the Beaumont Apartment complex. One of the deputies was rushed for treatment to Harborview Medical Center before he was released Monday evening while the other was transported to Evergreen Health Medical Center for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and was released later the same evening.

According to KOMO News: The deputies were called to the scene after a report of a suspicious man on the property looking into vehicles. When the deputies arrived, they encountered a man who was carrying some type of case. When the deputies tried to talk the man, he allegedly opened fire, striking both deputies, officials said. That's when the deputies returned fire. Officers told KING 5 news that the bulletproof vests deputies were wearing helped slow the velocity of the bullet. Woodinville contracts with the King County Sheriff's Office to provide policing and law enforcement services for the city.

The shooting comes almost a week after King County voters chose to make the King County Sheriff an appointed position rather than an elected position, thereby giving up their own right to vote for sheriff. King County will be the only county in Washington state where the voters will not have a say in choosing the sheriff. The measure put the appointment of Sheriff under the purview of an anti law and order county executive Dow Constantine and county council.

The King County Sheriff's Office serves cities, rural and unincorporated areas, and protects public transit. They lead the region's response on human trafficking, help homeless citizens get much-needed assistance, find and rescue missing persons, respond to 911, and serve protection orders in domestic violence cases. They also support municipal police departments. Opponents of the measures believe that this will also lead to a decrease in funding for the sheriff which had already begun earlier this year.

In an interview with KIRO Radio's Dori Monson former King County Sheriff John Urquhart said "I can't figure out … why they voted that way either." Urquhart continued "If they try to cut your budget, you can't voice your concern. Look what the… (Seattle) City Council did to (former chief) Carmen Best… They treated her horribly. The same thing is going to happen with an appointed sheriff, I guarantee you."

Urquhart went on to say: "If you like the Capitol Hill's CHOP, you're going to love an appointed sheriff," he added referencing the armed occupation by rioters of six blocks of the Capitol Hill area of Seattle this summer.

The changes affect residents in unincorporated King County more than those in urban areas. "[If] the … residents of the city of Seattle want to legalize drugs, or crime, or whatever it is, that's their choice. They can do that, and they can live with the consequences. But they shouldn't be able to dictate to the people that live outside of the city of Seattle, whether it's unincorporated, or whether it's one of our contract cities — and that's over 500,000 people. And yet they get to dictate how they live , and that's just plain not right. This shouldn't have happened just from that standpoint alone."