Sheriff’s deputy killed in crash while responding to domestic violence call in Washington state

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — A Pierce County sheriff’s deputy died early Saturday as he raced to help another deputy on a domestic violence call that was going wrong, according to authorities.

The deputy, identified as 25-year-old Cooper Dyson, died in the crash on 112th Street East in Parkland. Investigators said speed and rain likely caused the crash.

Authorities said the crash happened eight minutes from the domestic violence call he was heading towards.

“One of the people involved in the domestic violence had armed themselves with a shotgun, so our deputy called for backup,” Detective Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, told KIRO-TV.

Troyer said Dyson was speeding around 3 a.m. Saturday when he lost control of his patrol car.

“(He) had his lights and siren on,” he said. “(There were) no other cars on the road.”

Authorities believe Dyson hit a patch of water, hydroplaned, barrel-rolled and landed before his patrol car burst into flames.

“Unfortunately, he was trapped inside the car,” Troyer said. “By the time anybody got here, it was fully engulfed. The car burned, and he lost his life.”

Dyson was married with one child and a second child on the way.

“This family is changed forever,” Keith Galbraith, who lives near the accident scene, told KIRO-TV. He works in the domestic violence field and said he has seen the devastation that accompanies such tragedies. “This is the time that the community needs to step up, I believe."

A single bouquet of flowers was left at the scene of the deputy’s death, an expression of the sadness.

“This is a tremendously sad loss,” Sheriff Paul Pastor said in a statement. “Our deputy was responding to help other deputies in a dangerous domestic violence situation. It is another hard reminder of the dangers and difficulties our deputies face."

Troyer said the loss is especially painful for the department, as Saturday marks 10 years since Deputy Kent Mundell and Sgt. Nick Hausner were shot while responding to a domestic violence incident near Eatonville. Mundell died of his wounds seven days later.

Dyson’s death Saturday is the first motor vehicle collision death of a Pierce County sheriff’s deputy since 1941.

On Nov. 23, 1941, Deputies Lawrence Bunce and Arthur Varco crashed with Tacoma police officers while responding to separate calls. Bunce, 29, was survived by his wife and son. Varco, 45, was survived by his wife, son and daughter. The two Tacoma officers involved in the crash, Paul Trent and Martin Joyce, also died of their injuries.

The Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.

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