By Rolf Boone

The Olympian

A Thurston County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a man early Tuesday after he pulled out a knife during a struggle to take him into custody, a spokesman for the department said.

About 5:30 a.m., the deputy was dispatched to the 7800 block of Mountain Aire Loop Southeast, which is just west of Marvin Road off Pacific Avenue Southeast, after a report of a protection order violation, Lt. Ray Brady said.

The male deputy encountered the man who allegedly had violated the protection order outside the residence. He confronted the man, which escalated to the point that the deputy used his Taser. The deputy shot the man after he “produced a knife,” Brady said.

The man died at the scene, he said.

The deputy, who was not injured, has been placed on paid administrative reassignment, Brady said. The deputy has worked in law enforcement for more than six years, he said.

A five-county team of law enforcement officials will now investigate the incident. The investigation will be led by the Mason County Sheriff’s Office, he said.