Kent Police chief details officer-involved shooting death

When two Kent Police detectives and an officer showed up one afternoon last month to serve a search warrant for a fraud investigation at 437 Jason Avenue North, they didn’t know if Patrick Reddeck was home or not.

They tried calling Reddeck’s phone but he didn’t answer, said Police Chief Ken Thomas during a recent interview about what turned out to be a fatal shooting on Oct. 12 of Reddeck, 38, by the three officers.

Relatives and friends of Reddeck contacted the Kent Reporter in an effort to find out more about how and why he died from police gunfire. Thomas agreed to discuss details of the shooting, although the case remains under review by the Valley Investigation Team, led by Auburn Police.

“The case is still under investigation, so the facts could still change,” Thomas said. “But based on the officers’ statements, which are consistent, this is what it appears occurred.”

Police had tried to get a key to the house from the relatives of Reddeck’s girlfriend Amy Derheim, who died a suspicious death in August at the home, a case that remains under investigation by Kent Police. But Thomas said Reddeck had changed the locks at the house shortly after Derheim’s death.

“They knocked on the door, he didn’t answer,” Thomas said. “So they were going to force entry to get computers. They kicked the door a few times. They had been out there at least five-plus minutes, pounded on the door, and shouted ‘Kent Police, search warrant.’ Overhead lights were on a police vehicle parked outside of the house.”

Officers went around the house to go in the backdoor, but since it was a glass door, they decided they didn’t want to break it open.

“They went back to the front door, and saw no movement inside,” Thomas said. “So the sergeant told a detective to kick the door. It was dead-bolted shut and (cracked open) but didn’t break open. The suspect was seen walking from the kitchen area to the front door.”

Detectives had been out to the house a day prior to the shooting and talked with Reddeck, so they knew him, Thomas said.

“They told him, ‘Patrick open the door,’” Thomas said. “He unlocked the door, but because we kicked it, it was hard to open, so they pushed it open and he backed up.”

The officers entered the home. Two didn’t have their guns drawn. One had his gun out of the holster but didn’t point it at anybody in what’s known as the low-ready position, the chief said.

“He (Reddeck) backed up and he kept backing away from the officers and acting very strange,” Thomas said about what reportedly occurred based on officers’ statements. “They gave him orders to get down, to sit in a chair. He said words to the effect of ‘No, I’m not going with you guys, I’m not going.’ He turned away from officers, then quickly turned and had a gun in his hand, raised the gun and officers fired.”

Gun still in hand

Reddeck fell to the floor, out of view from two of the officers.

“An officer saw him still with a gun in his hand, then he rolled up on his side and put his other hand on the gun,” Thomas said. “The officer screamed at him to drop the gun. He started to move again and wasn’t dropping the gun. The officer fired a couple of more rounds and the suspect dropped the gun.”

The chief said he didn’t know exactly how many shots were fired.

“I know one officer fired one shot (round),” Thomas said. “The other two officers each fired several rounds, less than 10 for each, I don’t have an exact number and I don’t want to say a wrong number, but each were less than 10.”

Paramedics transported Reddeck to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he died later that day. Reddeck died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Relatives held a memorial service for Reddeck on Oct. 30 in Ventura, Calif., where family members live.

Once Auburn Police are done with the investigation, the case goes to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for review. Kent Police would not release information about where Reddeck got the gun or or who it was registered to because the shooting remains under review.

The three officers involved in the shooting included a detective sergeant, age 51, with the Kent Police for 18 years; a detective, 36, with the force for 12 years; and an uniformed officer, 51, assigned to the investigations unit and with the department for 25 years, Thomas said.

“Our department policy is we don’t release names of officers in shootings,” the chief said when asked for the names. “Generally, we’ve given the number of years of service. There is a lot of sensitivity in officer-involved shootings.”

Alleged stolen funds

Kent officers showed up with a search warrant at the home to seize computers as part of an investigation into allegations that Reddeck stole funds from Derheim’s bank accounts, Thomas said.

“I can tell you that we were informed by Amy Derheim’s family of the possible theft that had occurred,” said Kent Police spokesman Jarod Kasner. “We continue to go through and process the evidence we have collected to determine the facts of the case.”

Bank fraud investigators had contacted Derheim about large sums of withdrawn money, Thomas said. He estimated anywhere from $50,000 to $70,000 had been taken out of her accounts although that figure could change as the investigation continues.

Police became familiar with Reddeck while investigating Derheim’s suspicious death in August. Derheim, 41, died Aug. 18 from acute ketamine intoxication and asphyxia due to drowning, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Her cause of death is undetermined, and the case remains under investigation by Kent Police.

Detectives talked to Reddeck about the death of Derheim. The two had lived together for several years at Derheim’s home. Thomas said Reddeck was a computer game developer but hadn’t had a job in several years.

“He was not considered a suspect,” Thomas said. “It was a suspicious death. The initial examination showed no real signs of foul play, no marks on the victim’s body to indicate a struggle or any injuries. It just as easily could have been a natural death.”

Detectives looked at video at a bank cash machine that reportedly shows Reddeck withdrew a large amount of money from Derheim’s account the morning of her death. He also allegedly asked detectives about whether he would get any money from Derheim’s life insurance policy if her death were ruled a suicide.

“We will continue to investigate the cause of death of Amy, complete that and will complete the fraud investigation,” Thomas said. “We will assign it to someone different (with the officers involved in the shooting on paid administrative leave). We seized computers. There won’t be an arrest, but there is video of the suspect, and there were many transfers over the computer that’s why we wanted to analyze the computers. We will look for evidence of fraud and tie up the case the best we can.”