A veteran Pasco police officer shot and killed a man wielding a machete in a confrontation outside a shopping center on Court Street.
The Regional Special Investigations Unit identified Detective TJ Orth as the officer who opened fire when Salih Belsic, 47, allegedly charged him on May 23.
Orth, a detective in the street crimes unit, spent more than eight years with the department and previously worked for Sunnyside police. He is currently on paid administrative leave, Franklin County Sheriff’s Commander Marcus Conner said in a statement.
An autopsy found that Belsic died as a result of multiple gunshots.
Belsic, who suffered from mental health issues, had a history of threatening people with machetes over the past decade.
Pasco police were called to the area of RiverView Plaza on Court Street around 6:45 p.m.
Witnesses said Belsic chased at least one 18-year-old man to his car while holding the gun.
Orth was part of a group of police officers who arrived at the square at the same time.
Officers attempted to calm Beslic down, but he allegedly refused to surrender the weapon. Instead, he attacked the officers, a Pasco Police Facebook Post it says
They were in an alley near Cornerstone Church Tri-Cities when Orth shot Beslic, who died at the scene.
Belsic’s family has been notified and is cooperating with the investigation, Conner said in the latest statement.
The Regional Special Investigations Unit took over the investigation, Pasco police said. The unit draws officers from Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla counties to investigate officer-involved shootings.
Conner said they recovered a bladed weapon at the scene and officers were wearing body cameras. No video has been shared of the shooting.
Investigators found several people around Round Table Pizza and the Circle K gas station at Road 32 and Court Street who may have witnessed the shooting and Belsic’s activities before the shooting.
Anyone who may have been in the area between 5pm and 7pm on May 23 is asked to contact Sgt. Steve Warren at 509-545-3501 or email swarren@franklincountywa.gov.
