The Vancouver Police Department has identified the officer involved in the fatal shooting of a suspect in a robbery auto theft as an 18-year-veteran of the force.
Officer Ed Letarte, 53, was placed on critical incident leave after he fired his weapon, killing an armed fleeing Friday morning, according to Vancouver police.
The incident began at about 6:20 a.m. Friday when the man, whose name has not been released, confronted the owner of a vehicle at 5804 N.E. 41st Circle, in the Roads End neighborhood north of Highway 500 and west of Northeast Andresen Road.
The man took the vehicle and drove away in the Honda, but crashed into a parked activities bus at Vancouver Pointe Senior Living, 4555 N.E. 66th Ave., a few blocks away, police said.
The suspect then fled on foot, running through the lobby of the complex and into the neighboring apartment complex, Springfield Meadows Apartments at 4317 N.E. 66th Ave, police said.
The man then entered a second-floor apartment occupied by a father and his four children, Kapp said. Officers and deputies followed and forcefully entered the apartment, and a Vancouver police officer shot and killed an armed man they found in a bedroom, Vancovuer police Spokeswoman Kim Kapp said.
Letarte has been employed by Vancouver police since September 1998 and has worked in the domestic violence unit, the regional SWAT team and currently is assigned to the west precinct.