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Bodycam footage shows final moments of South Tacoma shooting

According to investigators, Peter Collins fired at Tacoma police officers 15 times and officers shot nine times in return.

TACOMA, Wash. — What started off as a routine call quickly escalated to a deadly shootout in South Tacoma in August.

Officers responded to a domestic violence call at the 6700 block of South Monroe Street after a man called 911 and reported a relative of his assaulted him.

Video released by the Pierce County Force Investigation Team shows Peter Collins yelling at someone, which was captured on a Ring video camera, before cutting to body camera footage from a Tacoma police officer instructing Collins to not get in a car.

Then, shots were heard coming from the house and the officer returned fire.

The video cuts to another scene taken from an officer’s body camera where shots are heard while the officer said that Collins has a long gun over his radio.

Investigators said Collins fled the area with two semi-automatic rifles, two handguns and a large amount of ammunition.

The video then shows another officer driving to Collins’ location on South Madison Street and pulling a rifle out of his trunk.

After multiple shots from Collins' location, the officer fired once in return, then reported that Collins is down.

Sgt. Darren Moss of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said this kind of dangerous situation is prevalent in domestic violence calls.

“You’re walking into a space where you’ve never been, but they have an advantage over you,” Moss said. “So if they have a hiding spot or a place they can get to, before you can find them, those are one of the things we have to think about, but with domestic violence being the most common calls for police officers to deal with, it can be the most volatile as well.”

Investigators said Collins sustained two gunshot wounds; one consistent with an officer-fired shot,and one consistent with a self-inflicted shot. The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office ruled Collins’ death as a homicide from a rifle wound to the chest. 

The investigation is still ongoing.

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