State trooper shot in the head; expected to survive

The Washington State Patrol and other police agencies launched a massive hunt on the Long Beach Peninsula for an unidentified man who shot a Washington state trooper early Saturday morning.

Trooper Scott Johnson, a decorated 25-year veteran, is, remarkably, in stable condition at a Portland hospital after being shot twice in the head. Although he still had a bullet in his head, Johnson has talked with investigators and Gov. Chris Gregoire.

State Patrol spokeswoman Krista Hedstrom said she was told Johnson was "joking and being himself" at a Portland hospital early Saturday afternoon.

About 60 law enforcement officers from the State Patrol, the Pacific County Sheriff and other coastal jurisdictions conducted a house-by-house canvass of Long Beach, and were soliciting tips from the public. The Washington State Patrol Troopers Association offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

The shooting, which took place on Highway 103, also known as Pacific Avenue South, on the south side of downtown Long Beach, comes amid the deadliest months for Washington law enforcement in more than 50 years.

Six officers were killed between Oct. 31 and Dec. 28, 2009: Seattle Officer Timothy Brenton, Pierce County Sheriff's Deputy Kent Mundell, and four Lakewood Police officers, Sgt. Mark Renninger and Officers Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens and Greg Richards.

Johnson was shot shortly before 1 a.m. as he was taking inventory of the contents of a vehicle before it was to be towed. The driver had been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, and was being driven by another state trooper to a police station for investigation.

An unidentified man walked up to Johnson and a tow-truck driver and exchanged words with them. Johnson acknowledged the man, then turned around to continue searching the car, according to the State Patrol. The shooter pulled a gun and fired twice at Johnson, Hedstrom said. One bullet apparently grazed the trooper's ear, and the other lodged in the back of his head, said State Patrol Sgt. Freddy Williams.

Johnson fired back at the gunman as he fled, but it isn't known if he was hit. Investigators have found no indication he was hit, but sent alerts to area hospitals to be on the lookout for a gunshot wound victim.

"Right now we don't know if it was random or if it was in some way associated with the suspect who was arrested for DUI," Hedstrom said. "We are in contact with the woman who was arrested for DUI. So far we've come up with nothing. ... It could very well be somebody who was just having a bad day."

The suspect was described by Johnson and the tow truck driver as being between 35- and 40-years-old, unshaven, between 5-foot-10 and 5-foot-11, 185 to 200 pounds, wearing a dark insulated shirt and possibly a knit cap.

There is no indication that the woman arrested for the drunken driving incident knew or had any connection to the shooter, said Williams.

After the shooting, Johnson was taken to a hospital, then driven by ambulance to Oregon Health & Science University hospital in Portland. Johnson's family was at the hospital, but has not issued a statement.

Pacific County Prosecutor David Burke, who was at the manhunt headquarters, said he was gathering information in case a search warrant was needed. "I don't anticipate a search warrant being applied for immediately," he said.

Scott Johnson is a 1980 graduate of South Bend High School, and his parents still live in the coastal Washington town. Johnson has spent 24 of his 25 years with the State Patrol in Pacific and Wahkiakum counties, and is well known in the community, according to a profile in The Chinook Observer. He has four adult children.

He was honored as the local officer of the year in 2004 by the Ilwaco American Legion Post. "Everybody knows I like to talk," he said at the awards ceremony. He joked that he had to pull an old pair of dress shoes from his closet for the occasion. The soles of the shoes were so worn that he left a trail of black rubber across the stage.

"This is a neighbor, this is a friend," Long Beach Mayor Bob Andrew said in an interview Saturday, calling Johnson "pretty much a local boy." He said residents were experiencing "a little bit of shock because usually we're insulated from some of the big crime issues that happen in large cities. We are also reminded that it can happen anywhere."

Andrew, who operates a bakery and cafe, and other residents took coffee and food to the scores of searchers.

With his long history in the area, Johnson "he knows everyone in the peninsula," said Williams, the WSP spokesman. "He didn't recognize the guy" who shot him.

"They're pulling over almost everybody, checking our rigs. They're doing their darnedest to find him," said Natasha Luce, bartender at the Crab Pot restaurant near the shooting scene. Customers weren't scared, she said: "I'm sure if you went outside and hollered, 'Help!' there would be about 10 cops here in a second."

As for the description of the gunman, Luce said, "Just about every 40-year-old male looks like that."

State troopers from Pacific, Kitsap, Pierce and Thurston counties set up a perimeter and searched for the gunman with the help of the Pacific County Sheriff's Office and other police agencies from Washington and Oregon.

K-9 units and a State Patrol airplane were used in an unsuccessful search before police began going door-to-door. At one point Saturday morning a man was interviewed and then released when it was determined he wasn't connected with the shooting.

"I am troubled that we've had yet another police officer ambushed while performing what should have been a simple law-enforcement task," Patrol Chief John Batiste said in a statement. "I'm exceptionally thankful that Trooper Johnson is doing well, and very grateful for the assistance we've received from the Pacific County Sheriff's Office and police agencies in both Washington and Oregon."

Gov. Chris Gregoire talked to Johnson by phone. In a statement she called the shooting "yet another reminder why we need to strengthen the protection of our law-enforcement officers, their families and our communities. Trooper Johnson and all of our law-enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve us. They are true heroes — and I stand with the entire law-enforcement community during this difficult time."

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com

Jonathan Martin: 206-464-2605 or jmartin@seattletimes.com