The woman shot and killed by Clark County sheriff’s deputies Sunday has been identified as a Portland woman.
Amy Jean McCoy, 38, was identified as the woman who allegedly attacked two deputies with a hammer and a knife Sunday in a residential neighborhood, Major Crimes Sgt. Todd Barsness said.
The two patrol deputies involved in the shooting were also identified as Joseph McLoughlin, a 27-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, and Thomas Yoder, a 10-year veteran of sheriff’s office, Barsness said.
The shooting took place shortly before 5 p.m. in a backyard just south of Padden Parkway and east of Intestate 205 in the Five Corners area.
McCoy was allegedly the driver in a single-vehicle crash reported about 20 minutes before she died, according to the sheriff’s office.
Just prior to the crash, witnesses reported seeing a blue Mini Cooper driving erratically near Northeast 76th Street and 94th Avenue. The vehicle veered off the road and crashed in a field, sheriff’s Sgt. Fred Neiman said.
Witnesses said that the woman, who was the only person in the vehicle, walked away from the crash scene while yelling. Neiman said they couldn’t make out what she was saying.
Minutes later, a resident a few blocks north of the crash scene called 911 to report that McCoy was trying to force her way inside of his home, but he managed to keep her out, the news release said. Deputies responded to the scene, in the 9600 block of Northeast 81st Street, and found McCoy in a nearby backyard.
She was armed with a knife and hammer and attacked the two deputies, who fired at her during the altercation, police said.
“They tried to treat her injuries,” Neiman said of the deputies, but “unfortunately, she died at the scene.”
Neither deputy was hurt during the confrontation and both have been placed on paid administrative leave, according to agency policy. The cause and manner of McCoy’s death is under investigation by the Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Barsness said that it is too early to say what McCoy’s motive was, but said that both intoxicants and possible mental health issues are being investigated as potential factors in the altercation.
Information such as how many shots were fired and whether both deputies fired their weapons has not yet been determined because McLoughlin and Yoder have not yet been interviewed, Barsness said.
“We’re still in the information-gathering phase,” he said.
Detectives with the Vancouver Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit are investigating the officer-involved shooting. They are seeking additional witnesses to the reportedly reckless driving and single-vehicle crash that occurred prior to the officer-involved shooting.
At one point, the suspect was going northbound in the southbound lanes of Northeast Covington Road and nearly hit two vehicles head-on, Vancouver police said.
Anyone who witnessed the reckless driving incident is asked to contact Vancouver Detective Barbara Knoeppel at 360-487-7436.
