The .22 caliber Berreta that police say Rosenfeld pulled from his waistband.
UPDATED at 5:45 p.m.: Ariel Rosenfeld was in a back room working by himself when police arrived to arrest him Monday night at the Wedgwood QFC, police said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon at downtown headquarters.
“He was in an area where the public is not allowed — it wasn’t as though he was on aisle 2,” said spokesman Mark Jamieson in describing the lead-up to the confrontation that would end with Rosenfeld shot and killed by an officer at 8:20 p.m.
Earlier Monday, a QFC manager had called police to let them know that Rosenfeld was at the store working, Jamieson said. The manager had called because he knew that another officer had come to the store the previous night looking for Rosenfeld, who was to be arrested for allegedly choking his 71-year-old mother until she became unconscious.
After meeting with QFC managers at the front of the store, two officers headed to the back to confront Rosenfeld, Jamieson said. Quickly a fight ensued, “bouncing from room to room” in the back stock-room area beyond the meat department and beyond the public bathrooms. Jamieson said a third officer soon joined the fight, which went on for between two and six minutes.
Toward the end of the struggle, officers saw Rosenfeld reach for a gun in his waistband, Jamieson said. They commanded him to stop and when he did not, the officer who was in closest proximity to him, shot him from close range, Jamieson said.
In describing this chaotic scenario, Jamieson clarified points that have been reported differently in the media, specifically:
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–The entire struggle took place in the back, non-public area of the store.
–Rosenfeld was shot “in the torso area.”
–A single shot was fired in the altercation.
Jamieson said he was uncertain whether Rosenfeld was a QFC employee, saying only that officers had been told that “he worked there.” Store employees have said that Rosenfeld did nightly janitorial work at the store for an outside company. (Editor’s note: Rosenfeld’s wife and QFC have since confirmed that he was an employee of QFC, working 90 minutes per night cleaning up in the meat department).
All three officers are on administrative leave, pending an investigation, a standard procedure when officers are involved in a fatality, Jamieson said. The officers were identified as Chris Anderson, 39, who fired the fatal gunshot; Brian Wicker, 26; and Wayne Goodman, 43.
PREVIOUSLY REPORTED
Rosenfeld’s mother, who shared her View Ridge home with her son, says he was “mentally ill,” plus Rosenfeld’s long list of prior trouble with police
Roundup from the scene Monday night
