Lawsuit filed against Snohomish County deputies for shooting Sultan man

SULTAN, Wash. – A federal lawsuit has been filed against two Snohomish County Sheriff's Office deputies over a shooting that killed a dog and injured a man in Sultan.

Deputy Kenneth Fredericksen and Sergeant Carl Whalen are named in a complaint that accuses them of using “unconstitutional and otherwise unlawful” force against Marcus Whybark, 45, as well as making false statements about what happened during the shooting.

Whybark was with his partner at his home on July 9, 2023, when his lawyer believes he was experiencing a mental health episode – likely due to the effects of alcohol withdrawal – which caused him to feel “confused, disoriented and anxious” . “

Documents say Whybark wandered around the house saying “absurd things and expressing irrational concerns” and, at one point, picked up a knife, causing his companion to become concerned about his behavior.

As his partner gets back into her truck parked in front of Whybark's home, the complaint reveals that he walked down his street holding a knife before confronting a neighbor on a bicycle on the same street.

Documents indicate Whybark and his neighbor got into a brief, physical fight and the neighbor escaped unhurt, before calling 911.

Body camera videos of Deputy Fredericksen and Sgt. Whalen, along with a neighbor's Ring footage, captured the confrontation.

Just before 7 p.m. that day, Deputy Fredericksen is shown interacting with Whybark remotely, ordering him to drop his knife, in front of Sgt. Whalen arrives a few minutes later, tackling Whybark and shooting Whybark's dog nearby.

The footage then shows Whybark running and jumping on the bed cover of his companion's truck, his hands raised in front of his face and body, as the two deputies fire several shots at Whybark.

The complaint says Whybark was shot in the legs, arms, pelvis, torso and head, and his dog died. Although Whybark's girlfriend was in the line of fire behind Whybark during the shooting, the complaint does not specify whether she was injured.

Whybark's attorney also accused the deputies of lying in their written statements following the shooting:

For his part, Defendant Fredericksen provided a written statement at the direction of Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney. In his initialed and signed statement, which he claimed to be “true,” Defendant Fredericksen asserted, among other things, that after Mr. Whybark's dog was shot, Mr. Whybark climbed onto the covered bed out of the light blue van and lay down. “lying on his stomach,” while “screaming” and “trying to stab the passenger side window of the vehicle.” [pickup] with the knife. ” He said Mr. Whybark was “trying to stick the knife into the window of the [pickup] as if he was trying to break the window. He said Mr Whybark “spent about 10 to 15 seconds” “trying to break the window with the knife”. He claimed that Mr Whybark was “looking at him” and Defendant Whalen was a “pre-attack informer” and “was about to get out” of the truck and that he was “actively trying to hurt people with the knife ” when he was shot. And he claimed that after getting into the bed of the pick-up, Mr Whybark “reared[ed] his right hand came back down to his hip and thrust the knife above his head like a hay punch to the back of the body. [pickup’s] rear window.” These statements are patently false. They are contradicted by the clear video evidence. Defendant Fredericksen knowingly made these false statements in order to justify his unlawful use of deadly force.

For his part, Defendant Whalen also provided a written statement at the direction of Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney. In his initialed and signed statement, which he claimed to be “true,” Defendant Whalen stated, among other things, that when he arrived on scene, Mr. Whybark was “pacing up and down the street.” He said Mr Whybark “posed an immediate threat to others”. He initially claimed, before viewing the video, that he “fired four or five bullets” at Mr. Whybark before getting on the bed of the van, after which Mr. Whybark “got down on the ground in the street” and said “something similar to the fact that he was finished”. These statements are blatantly false and contradicted by clear video evidence. Defendant Whalen admitted elsewhere in his statement that after viewing the video footage, his “recollections were inaccurate.” Additionally, shortly after the shooting, when the supervising officers asked him questions about (1) the direction of the shots fired and (2) the trail of blood left by the dog he had shot, the Defendant Whalen gave false answers, captured on other segments of body-worn camera footage. Specifically, the footage shows Defendant Whalen pointing in a completely different direction than the actual shooting when asked in which direction the shots were fired. And when asked about a trail of blood leading to Mr. Whybark's house, which had been left by the mortally wounded dog retreating to her home, defendant Whalen said the blood was ” not related to my incident” and that he was there previously.

The complaint says Whybark has suffered significant physical injuries and emotional trauma since the shooting and seeks compensation for medical expenses related to his recovery and future care.

A spokesperson for the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office said he could not comment on pending litigation, but said the Snohomish County SMART Team has completed this criminal investigation.