Two law enforcement officials who fired their weapons Wednesday morning in Longview have been identified, as has the man who died during that response.
Weston Cole fired his weapon toward officers, according to the Longview Police Department.
Longview officers were dispatched shortly before 3 a.m. to El Patio Mobile Home Park in the 600 block of California Way for a report of an unwanted subject. Cowlitz County sheriff’s deputies also responded to assist the local officers.
When officers found Cole, he displayed a firearm and fled, according to the police department. Then, Cole “forced his way into an occupied residence. The occupants were able to leave the residence safely,” police said.
Once inside the home, Cole started shooting toward officers, who returned fire and fatally wounded him, police initially said. Cole was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities later reported that Cole fired several rounds “over a period of time,” and it is unknown if the fatal bullet was self-inflicted or from officers.
Cowlitz County Deputy Geary Enbody fired his weapon and was placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard for deputy-involved shootings.
Enbody has worked for the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office for 3 1/2 years, according to a Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office news release. Before becoming a deputy, he worked at the Woodland Police Department for eight years.
Longview Police Department says Officer Tim Deisher fired his weapon during the incident. He is also on administrative leave.
Deisher has worked for Longview Police Department since 1996.
Enbody and Deisher, and no other deputies or officers, were injured as a result of the shooting.
The Clark County Major Crimes Unit will be conducting an investigation into the officer-involved shooting.
Deisher was involved in another fatal officer-involved shooting in Longview in Sept. 2017. He and an officer in training responded to a domestic violence assault call, but the suspect, 48-year-old Henry S. Rakoz Jr., had already left when they arrived, according to The Daily News in Longview.
Deisher found Rakoz on the ground in a yard on Olympia Way. He opened fire on Rakoz when the man pointed a rifle at him, according to TDN.
Rakoz ran toward a patrol vehicle, and then-trainee Levi Weatherl discharged his weapon, according to a memo from Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Jurvakainen that cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.
