Sandy MaloneKittitas, WA – The governor of Washington was notably absent at the funeral for murdered Kittitas County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Thompson on Thursday because the slain deputy’s wife requested that the governor and his wife not attend.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who has announced he is running for President of the United States in 2020, bragged on the campaign trail about how proud he is that he has attracted so many illegal immigrants to his state, KIRO reported.
Deputy Thompson, 42, was murdered in the line of duty during a gunfight with a “road rage” suspect who was in the country illegally..
KIRO asked the governor’s office why Inslee and his wife had skipped the fallen hero’s funeral and received an answer that was unsurprising to many in the law enforcement community.
“Governor Inslee and his wife, Trudi, made time to be there. But, when they spoke with Deputy Ryan Thompson’s family, the family said they preferred he not be there,” the governor’s communications director explained in a statement.
KIRO commentator Dori Monson has repeatedly said Inslee has “blood on his hands” because of his sanctuary state policies that may have led to the murder of Deputy Thompson.
Monson pointed out that it’s not the first time a law enforcement officer has been murdered by an illegal immigrant in the state of Washington, and said the laws make it easy for the criminals.
“We don’t cooperate with federal authorities like ICE. We make this one of the easiest places in the nation to be an illegal immigrant,” she said.
Monson argued that when a police officer or other citizen is murdered by an illegal immigrant, that was a death that could have been avoided by following our country’s existing immigration policies and laws.
The incident that led to Deputy Thompson’s murder began at approximately 7:37 p.m. on March 19 when Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an erratic driver in the Badger Pocket area, the agency said in a press release.
“It was reported as a road rage type of event,” Ellensburg Police Chief Ken Wade said during a multi-agency press conference after the incident.
Deputy Thompson spotted the suspect vehicle at approximately 7:42 p.m., and attempted to pull the driver over.
The driver refused to stop, and led Deputy Thompson on a pursuit into the City of Kittitas.
Kittitas Police Officer Benito Chavez, 22, joined the chase as the driver exited the interstate, Chief Wade said.
The driver ultimately stopped his vehicle “on his own” on Pierce Street, then opened fire on the pursuing officers, according to the chief.
Investigators do not believe that the officers were aware the suspect was armed until he actually opened fire on them, he added.
Deputy Thompson and Officer Chavez returned fire, mortally wounding the suspect.
They were both struck by gunfire during the shootout.
Deputy Thompson was rushed to Kittitas Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Officer Chavez suffered a gunshot wound to his leg, shattering his femur, and was operated on. He was expected to survive, Kittitas Police Chief Chris Taylor said.
Police identified Deputy Thompson’s killer – 29-year-old Juan Manuel Flores Del Toro – as a Mexican national who was in the United States illegally.
“Juan Manuel Flores Del Toro, a citizen of Mexico, was unlawfully present in the United States. He entered the U.S. on April 11, 2014 through a Laredo, Texas Land Port of Entry on a Temporary Agricultural Worker (H-2A) visa. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has no record of Flores Del Toro leaving the U.S., nor extending his visa after it expired,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wrote in a statement, according to KIRO.