In the early morning hours of May 19, 2022, a Sequim Police Officer conducted a traffic stop. A short time after the stop, the driver, identified as Bret Allen Kenney, quickly exited his vehicle, ran after, and tackled the Officer.
An altercation between the suspect and officer ensued, during which time the officer called for assistance. At some point during this altercation, the officer’s firearm was discharged.
The involved Sequim Police Officer is identified as Daniel Martinez, a 4-year veteran of law enforcement. Several citizens came to Officer Martinez’s aid, as did two Clallam County Sheriff Deputies. The two Clallam County Deputies are identified as Deputy Jeff Pickrell, a 26-year law enforcement veteran, and Deputy Bill Cortani, a 31-year law enforcement veteran. Kenney was ultimately taken into custody.
Both Kenney and Officer Martinez sustained non-life threating injuries and were treated and released from the Olympic Medical Center.
At the request of the Sequim Police Department, the Kitsap Critical Incident Response Team (KCIRT) was deployed to conduct an independent investigation. KCIRT is a multi-agency investigative team comprised of 10 law enforcement agencies within Kitsap, Mason, and Clallam Counties. Neither the Sequim Police Department, nor the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office are involved in this investigation.
At approximately 0840 hours on May 19, 2022, Clallam County law enforcement received a request for a welfare check on a woman in the 100 block of Senz Road, Sequim, Washington (Unincorporated Clallam County). KCIRT investigators learned this was Kenney’s residence.
Officers with the Port Angeles Police Department checked the residence and found a deceased woman inside, who was later identified as Kenney’s mother, Teri D. Ward. At that time, KCIRT initiated a homicide investigation into Ward’s death.
On May 24, 2022, the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office charged Kenney with Attempted 2nd Degree Murder, 1st Degree Assault, and Disarming a Law Enforcement Officer (all with special allegations). Kenney has been held, with no bail, in the Clallam County Jail since that time.
On May 26, 2022, Dr. Croom of the King County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on Teri Ward’s body. Dr. Croom determined the manner of Ward’s death was homicide, and the cause of her death was multiple sharp-force injuries to her neck.
KCIRT investigators located evidence linking Kenney to Ward’s murder. On 6/3/22, the Clallam County Prosecutor’s Office charged Kenney with 1st Degree Murder for the death of his mother, Teri Ward.
Original source can be found here.
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