Everett Police officer, Dan Rocha, was the one they say contacted the 50 year old outside the Starbucks at Broadway and 10th Friday afternoon, and that’s when detectives say the man opened fire on Rocha, hitting him several times with gunshots they believe are what killed the 41 year old married father of two.
Courtney O’Keefe with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office tells us the most disturbing part: “We do believe that as the suspect was fleeing from the scene, he also ran over the officer.”
Other Everett officers spotted the suspect and began a pursuit, but that ended with a nasty crash that left his car smashed head on with another and a van on its side before the man was arrested.
Snohomish County Executive, Dave Somers, issued a statement of support, condolences and “thanks to those police officers who will be out keeping our community safe, even under the shadow of this tragedy.”
Everett Police put out this statement:
It is with great sorrow that we inform our community that Officer Dan Rocha was killed today in the line of duty. Officer Rocha, 41, had lived in Everett for over a decade and served with the Everett Police Department since 2017. He first worked in parking enforcement and in 2018 became a fully commissioned police officer.
He served the City of Everett as a patrol officer in North Everett for most of his career and was well respected by both the community and his fellow officers. His loss will forever leave a void in our agency and our community. Officer Rocha is survived by his wife, two sons and large extended family. Please keep them in your thoughts during this extremely difficult time.
