Disaster averted.
That’s how Vancouver police Cpl. Marshall Henderson characterized an incident involving a suspicious man in military garb trying to sneak into a memorial of four Lakewood officers held at the Tacoma Dome.
“The threats became real when one of our team members detained a subject attempting to infiltrate security,” Henderson wrote in a letter to the editor published in Tuesday’s Columbian.
Henderson’s letter was in reference to two Columbian articles this month about how much money and resources were spent by local law enforcement to attend and work the Dec. 8 memorial. The Vancouver Police Department’s SWAT team, and officers from other local law enforcement agencies, were called in to assist with security.
With respect, we keep asking
About detaining the man in a military uniform, Henderson wrote: “This not only may have prevented a disaster but just being selected and asked to provide security was a huge compliment to the abilities of our local SWAT team.”
Not quite, according to Tacoma police who supervised security operations at the massive memorial.
Man known in Tacoma
The suspicious man was actually a homeless person. He had sneaked into the arena before the ceremony looking for food, said Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum. The man, known by local authorities for frequenting that area, wasn’t believed to be armed and hadn’t made any threats.
“Apparently, he was just eating like a king,” Fulghum said.
Vancouver SWAT officers confronted him later that day outside the dome, Fulghum said. They questioned him and escorted him from the premises. He wasn’t arrested.
Henderson’s letter had alarmed some Columbian readers, who wrote comments on the newspaper’s Web site asking about the details of the suspicious person.
After sorting out the details with the Tacoma police spokesman, a Columbian reporter called Henderson several times seeking comment. He did not answer or return phone messages left over several days.
