Man shot and killed by deputy in Bothell-area home

Norma Wall first heard the sirens, and then a host of police cars, fire engines and emergency medical technician trucks rolled up near her home on the 2000 block of 187th Place Southeast in unincorporated Snohomish County near Bothell last Sunday just after noon. "A lot of neighbors were outside wondering what the heck was going on," Wall said of the 13 or so vehicles in the area. "We wanted to, of course, make sure the neighborhood was safe. Is it safe for children to be outside?" Norma Wall first heard the sirens, and then a host of police cars, fire engines and emergency medical technician trucks rolled up near her home on the 2000 block of 187th Place Southeast in unincorporated Snohomish County near Bothell last Sunday just after noon. "A lot of neighbors were outside wondering what the heck was going on," Wall said of the 13 or so vehicles in the area. "We wanted to, of course, make sure the neighborhood was safe. Is it safe for children to be outside?"

By Andy Nystrom • July 11, 2011 1:51 pm

Norma Wall first heard the sirens, and then a host of police cars, fire engines and emergency medical technician trucks rolled up near her home on the 2000 block of 187th Place Southeast in unincorporated Snohomish County near Bothell last Sunday just after noon.

“A lot of neighbors were outside wondering what the heck was going on,” Wall said of the 13 or so vehicles in the area. “We wanted to, of course, make sure the neighborhood was safe. Is it safe for children to be outside?”

It was later that she learned that a Snohomish County Sheriff’s deputy fatally shot a 27-year-old man four houses away from her during a 911 call by family members.

During the altercation, the deputy fired a single shot at Brandon Ray Brown, hitting him in the torso, according to Everett Police Department Sgt. Robert Goetz. Medical technicians transported Brown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died.

According to court documents, Brown approached the deputy while holding a wooden cane over his head (he had also reportedly threatened to harm his sister with the cane earlier). The deputy, who had tripped and fallen, then shot Brown. A search-warrant affidavit named the deputy as Christopher Simpson, who, along with his partner, fired Tasers at Brown, but they had no effect on the man. The deputies said Brown was combative and didn’t cooperate after they asked him to come to them.    

Wall, who has lived in her home for 10 years, said police officials blocked off part of the neighborhood and she had yellow caution tape running along her driveway. She added that investigators were on the scene all Sunday night and were gone the next morning.

Although she didn’t know Brown personally, Wall noted that when walking her dog, she often saw him walking his dog, as well. “I know that he lived with his mother,” she said about her only knowledge of the family.

Brown has been diagnosed as living with schizophrenia, has been hospitalized for homicidal and suicidal thoughts, has a history of confrontations with police and his family had previously sought court protection after he reportedly threatened to harm them with knives, court papers and the search warrant said.

Goetz said the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team (SMART) is investigating the incident.

The 44-year-old deputy has been with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office for more than 20 years. As is routine in these incidents, the deputy will be placed on administrative leave, according to Goetz.