Following the officer-involved shooting in Tacoma on Sunday, September 27, 2026, you may be hearing about the Washington State Office of Independent Investigations, or OII, for the first time. OII is leading the criminal investigation into this incident.
I want our community to understand who OII is, what has changed, and where information about the investigation will come from.
What has changed?
For years, independent regional teams have investigated officer-involved shootings and other deadly-force incidents in Pierce County. That has included the Pierce County Force Investigation Team, known as PCFIT. These teams use investigators from law enforcement agencies other than the agency involved in the incident. Independent investigation is not new to Tacoma, but the agency responsible for conducting it has changed.
In 2021, the Washington State Legislature created OII through Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1267. OII is an investigative law enforcement agency within the Office of the Governor. Rather than assembling a regional team of investigators from neighboring police agencies, OII has its own investigative staff.
OII has been building its operations region by region. It began conducting investigations in December 2024 and expanded into Pierce County on May 1, 2026. Pierce County makes up Region 2 of the agency’s six regions statewide. Sunday’s incident is the first Tacoma Police Department officer-involved shooting to be investigated by OII since that expansion.
What does this mean for Tacoma?
The change is in who conducts the criminal investigation – not the fundamental purpose of that investigation. The work remains focused on establishing what happened and providing the evidence to the appropriate prosecutor for review.
Once OII takes responsibility for a case, it directs the criminal investigation. The Tacoma Police Department does not direct that investigation or determine its findings. OII operates independently of the department involved.
When its work is complete, OII forwards the investigation to the appropriate prosecuting authority. The prosecutor—not OII or Tacoma Police—decides whether criminal charges will be filed.
Where will updates come from?
Investigative updates about Sunday’s incident will come from OII. This keeps information about the investigation with the agency responsible for conducting it.
I understand that people will have questions. Part of our responsibility is to explain the process clearly, including our role and its limits, and to help our community find information from the agency doing the work.
To learn more about OII, how it operates, and its investigations, visit the Washington State Office of Independent Investigations website.
Chief Patti Jackson
Tacoma Police Department