Turns out, it was a case of mistaken identity.
When The Columbian called Tacoma Police on Feb. 17 to find out about a suspicious man in military garb trying to sneak into a memorial of four Lakewood officers at the Tacoma Dome, the police described the wrong guy.
Vancouver police Cpl. Marshall Henderson wrote to The Columbian the week before last describing an incident at the Dec. 8 memorial, saying: “The threats became real when one of our team members detained a subject attempting to infiltrate security wearing a military uniform.”
Henderson wrote the letter in response to two Columbian stories this month about how much money was spent by local law enforcement to attend and work the memorial. Vancouver’s SWAT team and officers from other local law enforcement agencies were called in to assist with security.
Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum had told The Columbian that the suspicious man was actually a homeless person who sneaked into the arena before the ceremony looking for food.
Well, that wasn’t the incident Henderson was writing about, Vancouver Police Chief Cliff Cook said Friday.
Another man
Another man — wearing a full Army combat uniform, complete with insignia, a name tag and a Sergeant First Class rank — got into Parking Lot F at the Tacoma Dome, which was set up as a secure command post, according to a Tacoma Police Department incident report Cook provided.
In his letter to the editor, Henderson was talking about that man, who was spotted only after a member of VPD’s SWAT team with a military background noticed the man had a badge on upside down, Cook said.
According to the report, the man, who was not armed, had a mental illness and “was wearing the uniform to pay respect to his dead father and to try and get photos of the procession.”
Tacoma Police escorted him from the Tacoma Dome with a warning not to return.
Though the man wasn’t ultimately found to be dangerous, counter to what Henderson said in his letter, he appeared to be much more threatening than a homeless man looking for food would, said Police Guild President Ryan Martin, who spoke on Henderson’s behalf.
“You have to understand at the time they make contact with somebody at the site, a guy in military fatigues … taking photographs and trying to get into a secure area, that’s a very real threat,” Martin said.
After VPD officers pulled him in for questioning, they immediately turned him over to Tacoma officers, meaning that Henderson did not know if the man had been intending harm, he said.
“Obviously, when you’re dealing with multiple agencies, you don’t know what final disposition is,” Martin said.
Both Martin and Cook noted that the threat level at the event was already raised, due to the fact the governor and the director of the FBI were both in the Tacoma Dome.
Five people were removed from the memorial that day, and two of them had unauthorized firearms, Cook said. Information was not available Friday as to if the two men with guns were charged with a crime.
Cook said he was displeased that a news story had misidentified the man Henderson wrote to the paper about.
“Marshall’s very well respected in this community,” he said. “I know Marshall to be a very honest officer. I’m concerned that he not be portrayed differently.”
Andrea Damewood: 360-735-4542 or andrea.damewood@columbian.com.
