State Patrol trooper struck, killed by driver during pursuit on I-5 in Chehalis


By Elise Takahama
Seattle Times staff reporter
A Washington State Patrol trooper was struck and killed by a fleeing driver Tuesday afternoon while he was placing spike strips on Interstate 5 in Chehalis during a police pursuit, according to the State Patrol..

The trooper, Justin R. Schaffer, was struck just before 4 p.m. and taken to Providence Centralia Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Trooper Will Finn said on Twitter. All southbound lanes of I-5 south in Centralia were temporarily closed after the crash.

No other details on the pursuit and crash were released Tuesday evening

Schaffer, 28, is survived by his wife, mother, father, brother and K9 partner. He had been a trooper for seven years, according to a statement from the State Patrol.

“Our hearts go out to this grieving family and we recognize the unique sacrifice they have offered to our state as Justin’s father, Glenn is currently the Chief of Police in the City of Chehalis,” the statement said.

Schaffer began working for the State Patrol in November 2013 as a trooper cadet assigned to the property management division, the statement said. He started his training with the 27th Arming Class in January 2014, and was commissioned and assigned to Morton, Lewis County, in September of that year. Four years later, he transferred to Chehalis.

That's why I think male officers are a bad idea. Bigger targets.

Fuq you!

R.I.P, trooper.

Sad story, but dear Lord.... the troopers wear bow ties in WA??? Has to be one of those "The Western side of the State" has way to much control things.....

Grateful for his service. Prayers for Trooper Schaffer’s family.

Almost 30 years ago a young officer was killed in Calgary by a fleeing felon while trying to deploy a spike strip. I'm told that his body blew apart into several pieces as the car that struck him was going in excess of 100mph.

RIP Trooper. May God bless and comfort his family.

RIP, Trooper.

RIP trooper! Blue live matter more than damn thugs!

Condolences to Trooper Schaffer's family and to the fellow officers of his Barracks...

I just hope that the perp is caught, tried and gets the death penalty....

Washington State has no death penalty.

Sad

Rest in peace. Prayers for the troopers family.

This is the sad part - we make the lowlifes guests of the state for the rest of their life.

Lennie: Thanks for posting this I had not heard of this incident/tragedy - after serving for 29 years in law enforcement not far from where this incident happened I am especially saddened at the loss of this young dedicated Patrolman.
My prayers for his soul and his family have been sent.
May he rest in peace.
Thanks again.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

RIP Officer.
Did they catch the perp?

You are a piece of [bleep].

Low class talk...Having multiple family members, hunting buddies and a son going through the process right now....You should hang your head in shame !!!

KARMA is a bitch for folks like you.Hope it bites your A$$

RIP Trooper.

Sad, but I would be watching traffic if I was out in the middle of I-5. One should have seen that one coming.

Special kind of stupid, eh?

Think so.

The perp is the one who hit the trooper. Yes, he was captured. F'n POS.

That was my old detachment. RIP

R.I.P. Trooper.

Such sad news.

That trooper was a friend of mine and you couldn’t hold his jockstrap. Your clearly a real piece of shït!

Sorry about your friend. Don't let douche bags on this forum add insult to injury.

RIP Officer Schaffer.

And another 'fire member goes on ignore.

Good call, thanks for the reminder

Yep good kid, shiit deal.they had more law enforcement in a mile stretch than I've ever seen ...

Every time I hear something like this, my heart just screams! A good person killed by some worthless pos! Police today are in a war zone with each shift they report too. My prayers to his family!

the pos that killed the trooper shouldn't take one more breath. these pos's are an absolute danger to society. they endanger everyone they come close to. there is no rational thought process going on. they will never escape by doing this type action. sooner or later they will be caught. this is a case of murder. period.
may God give solace to his friends and family.
RIP trooper.

It’s your AO so you likely knew him and his family much better then I did as my interaction were mostly from when I worked down there. Solid dude from a good family killed trying to make a difference.

RIP. I would like to thank the Troopers family for supporting him in his job choice and helping him serve his community. It is a real shame that such a fine young man was killed by such a loser. We are very fortunate in this day and age that any sane man or woman even wants to get into law enforcement. You are damned if you do and damned if you don't. Hard to win in today's environment. God bless you Trooper. Rest in Peace Sir.

Jim

I attended pretty much every funeral for LEO's killed in the line of duty for my department. It was an honor to go but a pretty sad way to get there...Rest in peace...

Often, the perp leaves the roadway trying to avoid the spike strip.

Ya his ol man is chief of police for Chehalis, started after dale miller headed over to Ellensburg, has done a great job. Couldn’t imagine losing my boy to some shiitbag ..

Mallard, he is a useless piece of excrement and will never be anything but. His parents obviously were unable to teach him anything and he wears the cloak of internet anonymity proudly.

Very sorry for the loss of your friend.

I believe his soul rests in good hands. Prayers and thoughts for those left behind to live with the pain.

Osky

The reason for the bow ties is they give a professional look and if you get in an altercation with a suspect and you were wearing a tie it would give the perp something to grab onto. Also they are only worn with long sleeve attire which is usually winter wear unless otherwise specified.

Any tie worn by LE is a clip on. The same for the strap that crosses the chest and supports the duty belt, it's a tear away attachment.

CHEHALIS, Wash. (KCPQ) — Prosecutors on Friday filed murder charges against a man accused of hitting and killing a state trooper while fleeing law enforcement.

On March 24, Trooper Justin Schaffer was attempting to deploy spike strips to bring the pursuit to a stop when the fleeing vehicle hit him on Interstate 5 in Chehalis, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Schaffer was taken to a Centralia hospital where he died.

AND NO DEATH PENALTY????????????????????????????????????????????????

Gods speed Trooper.