On a winter evening just days before Christmas, the life of Walter Kent Mundell Jr., a 44-year-old White/Caucasian male, was irrevocably altered. On December 21, 2009, Deputy Mundell, a ten-year veteran of the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, responded to a domestic disturbance call at a home near Eatonville, Washington. Alongside his sergeant, Nick Hausner, he arrived at a residence on Tanwax Court East where a man was reportedly in a volatile dispute with his brother and daughter.
The man, identified as 35-year-old David Edward Crable, was intoxicated and belligerent.
The deputies initially de-escalated the situation, persuading Crable to leave the home peacefully. They even offered him a ride from the location. As Crable began to gather his belongings, the situation took a sudden and violent turn. He retrieved a concealed handgun from a shirt and, without warning, opened fire on the two deputies, discharging ten rounds in quick succession. Sergeant Hausner was struck in the neck and face, and Mundell was hit multiple times. In a final act of bravery, the critically wounded Deputy Mundell returned fire, killing the suspect, David Edward Crable, at the scene.
In the midst of the chaos, Crable's own brother and daughter acted heroically, pulling the wounded Sergeant Hausner to safety and out of the line of fire. Deputy Mundell was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he was placed on life support. For seven days, he fought for his life, but his injuries proved too severe. Walter Kent Mundell Jr. died on December 28, 2009. He was survived by his wife, his 16-year-old daughter, and his 10-year-old son. The man responsible for his death was killed by Mundell at the scene, so no arrests were made in connection with the deputy's death.
