Prosecutor: Seattle man shot by police attempting suicide-by-cop

BY LEVI PULKKINEN, SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

Updated 12:04 pm, Thursday, June 6, 2013

A Seattle man accused of charging a police officer with a knife was trying to get himself killed, King County prosecutors contend.

Filing an assault charge, prosecutors claim Joshua N. Guarino made a false 911 call before trying to end his life by forcing police to shoot him. Guarino, 23, was shot but is expected to recover.

Just before noon Saturday, Guarino posed as a concerned citizen and reported a knife-wielding man in Magnolia neighborhood, a Seattle detective said in court papers. Guarino is alleged to have described himself to the dispatcher, then waited for police to arrive.

Responding officers arrived in the 2500 block of 36^th Avenue West to find Guarino armed with a knife and standing next to his father.

According to charging papers, Guarino then ran toward Officer Zsolt Dornay, Jr., with the knife held over his head. Having shouted at Guarino to stop and drop the weapon, Dornays partner Officer Stephen Ives a 26 year veteran of the department fired on Guarino, striking him in the torso.

The officers then began providing first aid to Guarino, who explained he would have done whatever he had to do in order to get the officers to shoot him, the detective told the court.

Guarinos parents explained their son is mentally ill and planned the incident in an effort to commit suicide, the detective continued.

Guarino was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment. He has now been charged with second-degree assault.

Both officers were placed on paid administrative leave following the shooting, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.