We are hearing for the first time—straight from the officers who were involved—how Burlington mall shooting suspect Arcan Cetin was taken into custody.
KIRO 7 submitted a public disclosure request for the scanner traffic from Cetin’s arrest in Oak Harbor.
Along with the audio we also received a narrative from each one of the officers involved in his arrest.
Neighbors showed us cellphone video they shot of Arcan Cetin being taken into custody September 24, the day after police said he killed five people inside the Macy’s at Cascadia Mall.
Neighbors described the arrest to us then.
“He was just walking with his bag, he just looked like he was anxious, just trying to get something out,” Angel Taber told us.
“When we pulled out (of) our apartment complex, we saw a bunch of cop cars but we didn’t expect it to be right there,” said Gabrielle Kesseler.
Now we’re hearing the arrest in real time from the officers who made it.
“Ocean 29 ICOM let me get a second unit, Northwest Columbia,” was one of the first requests made to Island County’s dispatch.
Ocean 29 is Officer Brown with the Oak Harbor Police Department.
According to his narrative of Cetin’s arrest, Brown was headed to stake out the suspect’s apartment when he spotted the suspect’s vehicle.
Officer Brown said the car pulled over on a side street, and he saw Cetin in the driver’s seat, reaching for something.
Unsure of what that something was, Brown pulled in front of the vehicle, drew his weapon, and approached—but Cetin had already gotten out.
“He’s right there walking,” another officer said.
Ten police officers from the Oak Harbor Police Department and the Island County Sheriff’s Office responded, took Cetin into custody without incident and then back to the police station to be interrogated by the Skagit Task Force.
We have submitted a request for that interview, as well as all other calls and recordings related to the mall shooting.
So far police have not released them.
Cox Media Group
