The Washington State Region 3 Critical Incident Investigation Team (CIIT) Detectives lead by the Grays Harbor County Sheriff’s Office completed their investigation regarding the fatal shooting incident that occurred on January 2, 2015, where a senior sergeant with the Mason County Sheriff’s Office shot an armed man. The culmination of the investigation revealed that the shooting was justified.
On January 2, 2015, around 9:30 PM, a 911 call was made to MACECOM where 18 year old Megan Elliott called to report that her 53 year old father Tim Elliott had shot himself at their residence located within the 600 block of E. Island Lake Drive, rural area of Shelton, and that she was attempting CPR.
Sergeant Trevor Severance and Deputy Sheriff Alfonzo Mercado responded to this alleged report of a suicide. Sgt. Severance, a fully trained Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), entered the residence with medical gear with the reported intention to save the life of Tim Elliott. What Sgt. Severance and Dep. Mercado found was that Tim Elliott had only inflicted a minor, non-threatening wound that only grazed his ear and not the initial report of a critical injury. Sgt. Severance and Dep. Mercado also found that Tim Elliott was still armed with a large caliber hand gun. The firearm was a .357 caliber revolver.
Unbeknownst to Sgt. Severance and Dep. Mercado was that Megan Elliott’s 911 call had not been hung up and that Dispatchers were still on the line audio recording the entire incident. CIIT Detectives reported that it was very clearly heard the repeated demands for Tim Elliot to drop his gun when Sgt. Severance and Dep. Mercado unsuspectedly walked into the house with a fully functional and armed man. Both Deputies and the young woman were all placed in danger by Tim Elliott since there was no place to hide for protection against Tim Elliott if he were to discharge his large caliber hand gun.
When Tim Elliott threatened to take the life of one of the Deputies, Sgt. Severance was provided no other choice, but to discharge his weapon, striking and mortally wounding Tim Elliott. The CIIT Detectives stated that it was very clear that Sgt. Severance was in fear of his life and the life of the young woman and fellow Deputy.
The investigation further revealed that Tim Elliott had been taking medication for being severely depressed.
The CIIT investigation and findings were then forwarded to the Mason County Prosecutor’s Office. This is a normal practice in order for the Prosecutor of the county to determine if there were any violations of state law. Mason County Prosecutor Mike Dorcy stated that his office completed their legal review of the investigation and found that Sgt. Severance did not violate any state law.
Also as a normal practice after a critical incident such as this, the entire case will be reviewed through a Mason County Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs investigation in order to determine if any agency policy or procedure was violated. The findings of this investigation will be made public when completed.
Mason County Sheriff Casey Salisbury stated that when a commissioned peace officer is entrusted with the service and protection of citizens in the county and state, they do so with the full intention to respect the sanctity of life. Sgt. Severance acted courageously and is to be commended.