Off-Duty Edmonds Officer Fatally Stabbed In Las Vegas

Seattle WA

28 March, 2022

2:37 PM

Description

EDMONDS, WA — An Edmonds police officer was fatally stabbed Saturday while off-duty and visiting Las Vegas, the department announced Monday. Officials said Tyler Steffins was rushed to an area hospital where he died from his injuries, and a suspect was taken into custody by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department. According to Fox 5, witnesses told Las Vegas detectives that the stabbing followed an argument over petting dogs along the Las Vegas Strip, near the MGM Grand. Steffins was a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, where he served from 2007 to 2011, earning recognition during "Operation Enduring Freedom." He started with Edmonds Police in the fall of 2018 and graduated from the police academy at the top of his class in March 2019. After completing field training, Steffins worked as a patrol officer on both day and night shifts. His killing is the third to impact Puget Sound law enforcement agencies this month, following the line-of-duty deaths of Pierce County deputy Dom Calata, killed during a SWAT operation on March 15, and Everett police officer Dan Rocha, killed Friday during an altercation with a suspect in a parking lot. "This is a tragic loss for our agency when our staff and the entire region is already in a state of mourning for other fallen officers," said Edmonds Police Chief Michelle Bennett. "Tyler was a valued member of our police family whose infectious smile and contagious laugh endeared him to his peers. We will miss him terribly but cherish the times we had with him." Steffins is survived by his wife and two young children. The Edmonds Police Department was scheduled to hold a news briefing Monday at 1:30 p.m. The Las Vegas Metro Police Department is investigating the killing as a homicide.