Bellevue Beat Blog

The Celebration of Life for Officer Jordan Jackson, who was killed in the line of duty on November 21, 2022, is scheduled for December 6, 2022. To allow the Bellevue Police family to grieve this loss and attend the service, we will be requesting assistance from neighboring agencies.

Between midnight on Tuesday, December 6 and noon on Wednesday, December 7, officers from Kirkland, Redmond, Clyde Hill, Mercer Island, and Issaquah Police, along with a limited number of Bellevue Police officers and supervisors, will respond to calls for service in Bellevue. We truly appreciate the support of these cities during this time. If you have any concerns regarding the services being provided, please contact us at 425-577-5656 and request to speak to a Bellevue supervisor.

If you have a non-emergency crime to report with no suspect information, we recommend you use our online reporting tool. This will create an official police record and be reviewed by a supervisor. The police non-emergency number is 425-577-5656.

As we prepare for Officer Jordan Jackson’s Celebration of Life on December 6th at 1:00, many have asked where to send flowers and other remembrances. Please deliver flowers to the Meydenbauer Center, 11100 NE 6th St, Bellevue, WA 98004, and mark “At the loading dock.” Flowers must be at the facility no later than 9:00 am on Tuesday, December 6th.

If you would like to support the family through this devastating time, you can donate through the Bellevue Police Foundation, www.bellevuepolicefoundation.org. 100% of the funds raised will go to support the family.

There will be a procession before the service, and more information about the route, time and traffic disruptions will be publicized in the next few days.

Officer Jordan Jackson’s celebration of life service will be held on December 6, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, located at 11100 NE 6^th St.

The service will be open to the public and more details about the service and procession will be released as they become available.

If the members of the public would like to remember Officer Jackson by supporting his family during this unimaginable time, the Bellevue Police Foundation has set up a memorial fund that will directly support his wife and two young children. Donations can be made through this link: https://bellevuepolicefoundation.org/.

UPDATE: The Bellevue Police Foundation is accepting donations to support the Jackson family during this tragedy and beyond. If you would like to help, you can donate here.

We are saddened to report that 34-year-old Officer Jordan Jackson died from his injuries in a collision early Monday morning while on duty. Officer Jackson has been a valuable member of the Bellevue Police Department since 2018. After two years on the force, Jackson transferred to the traffic unit as a motorcycle officer. He was recently honored as employee of the quarter for his excellent quality of work and service to the community. His supervisor commended Jackson for his leadership in the department and eagerness to take on additional responsibility.

“We are devastated by Officer Jackson’s tragic death,” said Chief Wendell Shirley. “Our hearts go out to his wife, two children, his family and friends, and extended BPD family as they grieve. This is a huge loss for the entire community.”

Before becoming a police officer in March 2018, Jackson was an EMT, volunteer firefighter, and a member of the King County Sheriff’s Officer Search and Rescue Volunteer K-9 Unit.

Officer Jackson was born in Spokane, raised in Bellevue and graduated from Issaquah High School and Central Washington University. He leaves behind his wife and two young children.

Funeral arrangements are underway and will be announced once they are finalized.

Detectives spent 14 hours processing the scene and canvassing the area for witnesses. They learned the victim was a 30-year-old local man with an unknown address, who had recently moved multiple times. Investigators were able to serve a search warrant on the car and gathered significant evidence, which they continue to process. Currently, they do not have any suspects and are searching for other potential witnesses. If you heard or saw anything just before 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning in the 14400 block of NE 35th St, please contact detectives at BPDTips@bellevuewa.gov.

Detectives are investigating a shooting overnight that left one male victim dead. Officers responded to calls of shots fired in the 14400 block of NE 35th St. just before 4:00 a.m. Witnesses reported hearing several gunshots and then heard a crash. Arriving officers located a car that had crashed into another vehicle in a parking lot and discovered the victim inside. This is an active and ongoing investigation, and there are no further details at this time.

The Bellevue Police Department and our Advisory Councils stand with our transgender community as we acknowledge both Transgender Awareness Week and Transgender Day of Remembrance, Sunday, November 20th. The week of November 13-19 has been nationally recognized since 1999 to honor the experiences of transgender individuals, especially transgender people of color, disproportionately impacted by anti-trans violence. As a city that welcomes the world, the Bellevue Police Department and our LGBTQ Advisory Council are proudly committed to raising awareness and visibility for transgender and gender non-conforming communities. To learn more about LGBTQ visibility within the department, visit our Advisory Council webpage – https://bit.ly/BPDAdvisoryCouncil.

28-year-old Ryuji Kawashima pled guilty as charged to Controlled Substances Homicide for the overdose death of his 26-year-old friend on June 12, 2020.  The victim died after taking what he thought was a Percocet pill but turned out to be fentanyl. Investigators say the victim purchased pills from the suspect the night he died. The victim and his girlfriend both consumed the pills, yet only the victim’s pill had a fatal dose of fentanyl.

“This case shows you how dangerous illegal fentanyl-laced drugs are,” warned Captain Shelby Shearer. “The victim purchased at least two pills. He took one and his girlfriend took the other, and he died. You must assume that unless you get your pain medication from a pharmacy, it’s likely laced with fentanyl, and that can be deadly.”

Over nearly eight months, Bellevue detectives investigated this alleged drug dealer. Ultimately, on March 17, 2021, detectives had enough evidence for probable cause to arrest the suspect on investigation of Controlled Substances Homicide. Officers recovered ten suspected fentanyl-laced Percocet M30 pills after his arrest.  The suspect says he knew the victim because they had played football together for four years in Bellevue. The charges alleged the suspect kept selling fentanyl-laced pills even after his friend’s overdose death.

“Controlled Substances Homicide cases are incredibly time-consuming and difficult to prove,” Shearer stated. “You must prove the victim got the drugs from the suspect and that it was those drugs that killed them. This successful prosecution is a credit to the Bellevue police patrol officers who initially investigated and our detectives who were able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Bellevue detectives worked closely with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to ensure the successful prosecution. Kawashima pled guilty to Controlled Substances Homicide.

This is the first Controlled Substances Homicide guilty plea in King County in the last 18 years.

Bellevue police responded to reports of an armed robbery at a Bellevue Square parking garage just before 12:30 Monday afternoon. The victim reported that as the suspect stole her purse, he allegedly fired his gun at her. The then stole her car and sped off in it. Fortunately, she was not injured.

Officers spotted the suspect as he sped across the 520 bridge, hitting two vehicles, and then drove into the Eastlake area of Seattle. Shortly after that, Seattle Police received a report of a carjacking and shooting there.

Kent Police notified Bellevue and Seattle that they had a carjacking in Kent earlier this morning and the suspect’s description matched the Bellevue case. Bellevue police detectives recovered the stolen grey sedan at the scene that had been carjacked earlier in Kent. 

Within about two hours of the Bellevue carjacking, Kent police arrested the suspect.

The investigation is ongoing.

Case # 22-60840