An off-duty Washington State Patrol trooper killed an intruder on his Olalla property on Sept. 11 after having been serously injured himself.
According to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, the trooper heard a strange car in his driveway at around 11:27 p.m. and went outside investigate.
He identified himself to the car’s driver as a law enforcement officer, according to preliminary investigation by the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
The trooper and the driver, later identified as 30-year-old Brent Bayliffe, then engaged in a struggle, during which Bayliffe drew a steel bar out of the car and struck the trooper in the head, “causing a serious injury and knocking him to the ground,” according to the report.
The trooper managed to get up onto his feet and issued verbal commands to the suspect to stop fighting, according to Detective Lt. Earl Smith from the Sheriff’s Office.
“When the intruder refused to comply,” Smith said, “the homeowner resorted to the use of lethal force” and shot him.
When Kitsap County Sheriff’s patrol deputies arrived, they found the trooper’s neighbor, a student in the Washington State Fire Academy, performing CPR on the suspect.
Another firefighter, who was riding with the deputy as an observer, also provided CPR and emergency first aid.
South Kitsap Fire and Rescue engine and medic units responded to render emergency medical care at the scene, and the medic unit transported Bayliffe to Tacoma General Hospital.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
According to Bayliffe’s Facebook page, he graduated from Henderson Alternative High School in 1997 and attended Olympic College in Bremerton.
Some of Bayliffe’s last Facebook status updates include: “Another Sunny glorious day thanks to the good GOOD Lord!!!” on July 24 at 9:49 a.m., and “Life is perfect for me now! All my dreams are now coming true in life! Knowbody more lucky than I!!!!” on July 23 at 11:13 a.m.
Most of the page is dedicated to updates related to the game “Mafia Wars.”
Bayliffe had no known connection with the trooper, according to Deputy Scott Wilson, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.
Washington State Patrol identified the homeowner as 36-year-old Corp. Jason Blakers, an emergency driving instructor, and an 11-year WSP veteran who had never used deadly force before Saturday night.
One of Blakers’ supervisors took him to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Gig Harbor for evaluation and treatment of his injuries.
“It would be fair to say there’s no life-or-death situation here, but he sustained a pretty good whack to the head-enough to knock him to the ground,” Wilson said.
The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office will investigate the state trooper’s case in the same way it would investigate any other civilian shooting, Wilson said.
“Once the criminal case is completed,” a WSP press release said, “the State Patrol will conduct a review to determine if the use of force followed department guidelines.”
