Man Police Shot During Traffic Stop Was Armed With Armor-Piercing Bullets

A man who was fatally shot by Tacoma police during a traffic stop early Wednesday morning pointed a gun loaded with armor-piercing bullets at the officer who stopped him and was carrying a large amount of ammunition in his truck, the Tacoma Police Department said.

Wednesday afternoon, the Medical Examiner's Office identified the man as Brooks Papineau of Gig Harbor. He died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

"The driver exited his vehicle armed with a gun, and the officer opened fire, striking the subject," said Mark Fulghum of the Tacoma Police Department.

When police searched Papineau's truck, they found a large amount of ammunition and additional ammunition magazines.They also said they found a Koran and several books on converting to Islam.

Police said Papineau went home sick from his job at the U.S. Postal Service at about 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The Tacoma officer who shot Papineau was on her way home from work when she pulled him over on State Route 302 near 97th Avenue Northwest just after 2 a.m. Police said the officer suspected Papineau had been drinking and driving.

SLIDESHOW: Police Shootout On State Route 302

Fulghum said the man's intention with the gun is unknown and the situation "went down quickly."

"Just bang bang, bang, bang -- it was really loud," said Charlotte Clark, who lives nearby.

Clark said she is nine months pregnant and doesn't get much sleep. She was up in the middle of the night when she heard trouble on the road outside her house.

"I heard those gunshots and then you correlate with what happened, I'm, like, 'I heard those. I wasn't asleep; I heard them," Clark said.

Police said Papineau was hit at least once in the stomach. He was taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Gig Harbor and was later pronounced dead.

Police are still trying to figure out if Papineau fired any shots before he was shot. It was not immediately known how many shots were fired, but there were several shell casings found at the scene.

Papineau, 54, had a history of driving while intoxicated, and was supposed to be at work at the time of the shooting, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported.

KIRO 7's Rick Price, the first reporter on the scene, said Highway 302 was closed for hours after the incident. One lane opened just before 6 a.m. and traffic in the other direction was moving through the center lane soon after.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Office is handling the investigation of the shooting. The officer is on routine paid leave during the investigation.

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