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Two Pierce County deputies shot; one critical

Suspect also killed; had history of domestic issues

Two Pierce County deputies were "basically ambushed" Monday night when responding to a domestic violence call near Eatonville, about an hour south of Seattle, a sheriff's spokesman said.
It was the third apparent police ambush in Western Washington since Oct. 31. Eight deputies or officers were shot in those cases; five fatally. Investigators say the incidents are unrelated.

Police said the latest shooter, identified as David Edward Crable, 35, was shot and killed during the incident, which happened shortly after 9 p.m. in the 34300 block of Tanwax Court East.
One deputy was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and was in critical condition Tuesday morning. The other was rushed to Madigan Army Medical Center and was upgraded to serious condition early Tuesday, Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.
The deputies responded to the residence after a family member called 911 about an unwanted guest. The argument involved Crable's younger brother and 16-year-old daughter, investigators said.
The deputies were let inside the residence by Crable's brother but were unaware Crable was hiding upstairs, Troyer said. Investigators said Crable fired several rounds.
It was not immediately clear which deputy returned fire. Additional information about the deputies was not released in the hours after the shooting, and law enforcement officials were meeting with their families.

Dozens of officers and deputies responded Monday night to Harborview, and roads were blocked around the shooting scene -- an area about an hour south of Seattle.
"We're trying to figure out what happened and what led up to this," Troyer said.
Court documents show Crable had a history of domestic issues and earlier this year pleaded guilty to third-degree malicious mischief and unlawful display of a weapon after an incident involving his brother and teenaged daughter.

History of domestic problems
On May 28, deputies were dispatched to the 8100 block of 202nd Street Court East in Pierce County. When they arrived they found Crable and his daughter, then 15, who said she'd been in an argument with him the previous day.
"She said (Crable) was holding a knife and pointed it at her several times, though she was not scared by it," Pierce County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brian Wasankari wrote in charging documents. "She said the defendant then escorted her to her room, slapping the back of her head several times."
When Crable and his daughter got to her room, the girl allegedly told police he "shoved her into the corner, grabbed the back of her head and shoved her face up against the wall, causing her chin to get cut."
A deputy who responded noticed the girl, then 15, had an abrasion on her chin.

Crable's younger brother, 32, had come to the house and confronted him, "but (Crable) grabbed him by the throat and pushed him out of the house," according to charging documents.
The brother told police that while he was sitting in his vehicle, Crable walked out of the house with a knife and slashed the tires.
Damage was estimated at $600. Crable allegedly told police he thought it was OK because he'd paid for the tires.
He was charged with second-degree malicious mischief and fourth-degree assault, but pleaded guilty June 25 to third-degree malicious mischief and unlawful display of a weapon.
Crable wrote in court documents that he believed he was innocent, but pleaded guilty believing he would be found guilty at a trial.
Crable wrote he wanted to take advantage of the state's amended charges.

He received two 365-day sentences. All but two days, for which he was granted time-served credit, were suspended on the conditions that Crable pay restitution, have law-abiding behavior and take parenting classes.

Crable was also ordered to have no hostile contact with his brother or teenage daughter.
A State Patrol criminal history also shows a Pierce County Sheriff's deputy arrested Crable Nov. 14 for DUI.
His younger brother filed for a protection order in July 2007, saying that Crable yelled that he was going to ruin his life and "has threatened to kill my dogs and damage my car."
Crable had been previously arrested for domestic violence, "but we madeup (sic) and I dropped the charges," his brother wrote.
Crable also allegedly had gone to a hospital that year threatening to kill himself, according to court documents.
The sibling said in court documents that he and his girlfriend were trying to move out and had a place to go in August of that year.
In April 2008, Crable's brother wrote in a petition to terminate the protection order that "we are getting along together much better now," after the two were not living together.

Several police shootings
Since Oct. 31, at least eight deputies or officers have been shot in Western Washington. Police say all attacks were apparent ambushes. At least five have been fatal.
On Halloween, Seattle police officer Tim Brenton was shot to death in the Leschi neighborhood and his partner, Britt Sweeney, was wounded.
Christopher J. Monfort has been charged with aggravated first-degree murder as well as three counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of arson. Read more here.
The morning of Nov. 29, four Lakewood Police Department members -- Sgt. Mark Renninger, and officers Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens and Greg Richards -- were shot to death at Forza Coffee, near McChord Air Force Base in Tacoma.

Police said their killer, Maurice Clemmons, was shot to death in Seattle on Dec. 1 after a multi-agency manhunt.
Police say December has a high number of domestic violence incidents statewide.
The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence reported that in 2006, there were 12,267 violations of domestic violence protection orders statewide, and at least 32 children have died in state domestic violence cases since 1997.

Troyer told reporters early Tuesday that both deputies were married with loving families.
"Law enforcement all across the state is hurting right now," he told our news partner, KOMO/4. "It's going to be really hard to find people to do this job when, through no fault of your own and no matter what kind of training you have, there's people that are out there willing to ... just randomly shoot police officers, or walk into a coffee shop or lay in wait in a residence.
"There's nothing you can do about that."

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