Starting around 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 26, 2022, there was major police activity at and around 138 SW 157th Street in Burien (map below) that ended up with a man suspected of stealing a car dead in a parking lot.

A witness told The B-Town Blog that the parking lots of Azteca, Value Village and the old Hi-Line Lanes were all taped off for hours for the investigation.

There were two medic cars and at least 13 sheriff and police cars on site, and nobody was allowed to move in or out of the area until police rolled out around 5:30 a.m. the morning of Dec. 27.

A male, who police suspected of driving a stolen vehicle and was detained, was given CPR for up to 45 minutes, but died at the scene.

Police say that he began experiencing medical issues while being detained and became unresponsive. The exact cause of his death was not released.

Officers rendered first aid and medics responded and continued treatment, but the male was pronounced deceased on the scene.

The Valley Independent Investigative team (VIIT) is serving as the independent investigative team for this in-custody death. VIIT is a multi-agency team made up of investigators from seven south King County Police Departments (Auburn, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Renton, Port of Seattle, and Tukwila).

The Federal Way Police Department is the lead investigating agency.

Founder/Publisher/Editor. Three-time National Emmy Award winning Writer (“Bill Nye the Science Guy”), Director, Producer, Journalist and more...

One reply on “Valley Independent Investigative Team releases update on Dec. 26 in-custody death in Burien”

  1. Congratulations to all the departments involved in the huge seizure of fentanyl, meth, guns, cash, other drugs and cars as well as the apprehension of suspects.
    In the scheme of things, with our southern border out of control, it may appear the war on drugs is a losing battle. But it’s busts like this that make a difference for our community and can’t be ignored by the suppliers no matter where they’re coming from.
    I understand with the liberal laws the way they are presently that there has to be extra (unjustified) consideration given to the criminals involved, making prosecuting increasingly difficult, therefore, creating more hurdles to climb for investigators and strategists.
    Thanks for putting a dent in the subsequent crimes that

Comments are closed.