Body-camera footage shows deputy shoot Bonney Lake man during weapon-intimidation call
By: A Pierce County team that investigates police uses of deadly force released body-camera footage Wednesday of a Sheriff’s Department deputy shooting a man during a weapons-intimidation call near Bonney Lake.
Deputies responded Nov. 5 to a residence southeast of Bonney Lake after a 911 caller reported that a neighbor was inside her home and had pointed a gun at her boyfriend, according to the Pierce County Force Investigation Team.
It was the second time law enforcement went there that night. Earlier, police went there to quell an argument between the caller and the neighbor over who was allowed to be there. Police determined it was a civil issue and did not make an arrest.
When law enforcement returned at about 4:50 a.m. and tried to contact the man suspected of threatening someone with the weapon, later identified as David Applegreen, 34, investigators say deputies saw him standing inside holding a gun. Stephen Cloninger, a Sheriff’s Department deputy for three years, fired six shots into the residence and struck Applegreen in the foot.
Applegreen later was charged with second-degree assault, and charging documents in Pierce County Superior Court allege he pointed his gun at Cloninger, prompting the deputy to shoot at him. No police were injured in the incident.
According to charging documents, the dispute between the 911 caller and Applegreen stemmed from an argument over the condition of the home. The 911 caller told police she’d been staying there for about a year with the homeowner’s permission, and she was planning on moving out that week. Applegreen and his wife were reportedly friends of the homeowner and put money into renovations. Records state that the wife told the tenant her husband was angry about the house’s condition.
When the tenant returned with her boyfriend, Applegreen allegedly pointed a gun at the couple during another argument. She called 911 again. The tenant later showed deputies text messages from Applegreen threatening to assault her boyfriend if he showed up.
Body-camera footage of the shooting begins at 4:51 a.m. after deputies responded to the second 911 call. It shows two deputies and a Bonney Lake police officer go to the back door of the residence and knock. A deputy states that he sees Applegreen has a gun through a window in the door.
“Hey, put the gun down, come outside, Sheriff’s Department!” one deputy said.
Law enforcement repeated the order once more in the footage while backing up to an outside corner of the home. At about 4:52 a.m., one deputy radioed that the man was refusing to come out and had cursed at them to leave. While two law enforcement officers staged there, Cloninger went around to another corner of the home.
Video from Cloninger’s body camera begins at about 4:52 a.m. He appeared to have his gun drawn, and a dog can be heard barking in the background. Seconds after the video starts, Cloninger moved toward a window and said into his radio that he had eyes on the suspect. The deputy identified himself as law enforcement and ordered Applegreen to put his hands up and drop the gun, then quickly fired into the window and siding of the home.
Cloninger then radioed that shots were fired and moved away from the window toward other deputies in the backyard. He told them he wasn’t sure if his gunfire struck Applegreen.
“We’re all good, he pointed the gun at us,” Cloninger said. “I don’t know if he’s hit. I saw him running down the hallway toward the center of the house.”
Investigators said multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the report of shots fired. About 20 minutes later, Applegreen exited the residence and surrendered to deputies. He was taken to a hospital to be treated for the gunshot wound.
According to court records, Applegreen has no prior criminal convictions