A Richland man on meth tried to steal a patrol car. The prosecutor says it was OK to shoot him

A handcuffed suspect who crawled through the sliding partition in a Franklin County patrol car and tried to drive away claims the April escape attempt was “a big misunderstanding.”

But investigators say Michael L. Long was high on methamphetamine when he got into an argument with an ex-girlfriend in Mesa, then later tried to flee.

Long was shot once in the left thigh by sheriff’s Deputy Scott Wright, who said he feared being run over by his own car or that the suspect could harm others.

On Tuesday, Prosecutor Shawn Sant announced that Wright was justified under state law in shooting Long.

“Deputy Wright’s concern for his own safety, the safety of other nearby deputies, and citizens in the area justified the use of deadly force,” Sant said in a news release. “This situation could have turned deadly if it involved a high-speed pursuit.”

Long, now 32, has been charged in Franklin County Superior Court with nine criminal charges for what happened April 11.

Long has been in the Benton County jail since May 4 on several different matters, including court order violations. He recently resolved an unrelated child sex offense case with a reduced charge of assault.

Deputies were called just before 5 p.m. April 11 to a domestic disturbance near Scooteney Park off Highway 17.

Long’s ex-girlfriend told officers he called in Kennewick, claiming he’d run out of gas in Mesa. She initially hesitated to help him because they had been arguing about his relationship with another woman, but she agreed to drive up there.

The 26-year-old woman had barely stopped her GMC Yukon near Long’s Audi S5 when he crawled underneath the SUV and started drilling.

She asked what he was doing and was told he was putting a hole in her oil pan to disable her SUV, documents said.

One witness said his eyes were “very wide as if he was high on narcotics,” court documents said.

His ex reversed and that’s when Long allegedly jumped on her SUV. She got away from him and he took off in his Audi.

At 5:34 p.m., two Caldona Avenue residents said an unknown man parked his Audi in their driveway and ran off. A plastic container with suspected meth was in plain view on the driver’s seat, court documents said.

An hour later, deputies found Long walking in the area, cuffed his hands behind his back and put him in the back seat of Wright’s patrol car. Wright also fastened Long’s seat belt.

Up to that point, Long had been following commands but “was being verbally aggressive,” documents said.

But 10 to 15 minutes later, as Wright approached the car in a second attempt to read Long his rights, the back seat was empty and Long was in the driver’s seat.

Wright told detectives with the Tri-City Special Investigations Unit that he pulled out his gun, opened the front passenger door and told Long several times to get out, court documents said.

Deputies and witnesses reported hearing Wright say something like, “Stop the car, don’t do that.”

Long put the car in drive, then Wright heard the engine rev and he fired once at Long, documents said. Long, who now had his cuffed hands in front of him, slammed on the brakes and was pulled out of the car by another deputy.

Deputies performed first aid and applied a tourniquet to his left leg until paramedics arrived.

Later at the hospital, Long refused to talk with investigators without an attorney, but said, “Well maybe this was just a big misunderstanding and maybe I was scared.”

Following surgery, Long was released without bail until he was arrested in May on some Benton County charges.

Wright, who’d been with the sheriff’s office for less than a year, was bruised when the car came to a sudden stop, but otherwise was not injured.

He told SIU investigators that Long’s behaviors were consistent with someone who was under the influence of drugs. He also said that a witness told him Long would likely run or fight instead of going to jail.

A blood test performed by the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab confirmed Long had methamphetamine in his system at the time.

Long initially was charged in Franklin County District Court with malicious mischief for the run-in with his ex.

Deputy Prosecutor Teddy Chow said on Tuesday that once Long appears in Superior Court on the new case, the District Court matter will be dropped.

Long is charged in Superior Court with second-degree assault, attempted car theft, meth possession and two counts of third-degree assault, all felonies.

He also has gross misdemeanors for DUI, malicious mischief, escape and driving with a suspended license.

Long pleaded guilty earlier this month in Benton County Superior Court to third-degree assault. The charge was reduced from first-degree child molestation after Long entered a “In Re Barr” plea — not an admission of guilt, but a plea to a lesser substitute charge to receive the benefit of a deal.

He was accused of inappropriately touching a young girl who was riding in his car last March.

Deputy Prosecutor Anita Petra said the amendment is appropriate because the victim, who is in a new school and “moving on with her life,” told prosecutors she did not want to testify.

“The child had great difficulty speaking about the incident and there is a concern that she may not be able to articulate what happened to her given her fear of testifying,” Petra wrote.

Long is scheduled to be sentenced next week and Petra said she will recommend a two-year prison sentence.

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 12:50 PM with the headline "A Richland man on meth tried to steal a patrol car. The prosecutor says it was OK to shoot him."