Police & Fire

Gig Harbor Now reporters stay alert to crimes and emergencies and relay information that allows readers to understand and react to incidents.

Gig Harbor firefighters deploy to battle wildfires around the state

Jul 26, 2024 | By: Marsha Hart

When local firefighters deploy to battle big fires elsewhere in Washington, they come home with valuable experience and knowledge.

Annual Crime in Washington report shows uptick in drug arrests

Jul 18, 2024 | By: Conor Wilson

West Sound law enforcement agencies arrested more people for drug and narcotic violations in 2023 than they have in either of the past two years, according to a new state report released this month. The 2023 Crime in Washington Report, an annual tally of arrests compiled by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs

City council adopts three-year strategic plan

Jul 11, 2024 | By: Charlee Glock-Jackson

The Gig Harbor City Council adopted a three-year strategic plan for 2024 through 2026 on Monday, July 8. The plan calls for: Updating public works standards. Exploring new revenue sources, including a business and occupation tax. Completing Phase 1 of the Sports Complex and finding funding for Phases 2 and 3. Designing and building the

Gig Harbor Police Blotter | Human remains found near Purdy Park and Ride

Jul 11, 2024 | By: Vince Dice

Editor’s note: The Blotter is written based on information provided by Gig Harbor Police , Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One and the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department reported finding human remains along a creek near the Purdy Park and Ride on July 10. A passer-by found the remains and called for law enforcement. Deputies arrived at

Medical examiner identifies victim in Ray Nash Drive shooting

Jul 03, 2024 | By: Vince Dice

The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office identified Reginald Anderson-Taylor as the man shot and killed at a home on Ray Nash Drive on June 26. Anderson-Taylor was a 39-year-old Gig Harbor resident. The Medical Examiner’s Office said he died of a gunshot wound to the torso and ruled the death a homicide. Pierce County prosecutors

Public safety sales tax revenues would primarily sustain police staffing

Jul 02, 2024 | By: Conor Wilson

After overwhelmingly rejecting a property tax increase earlier this year, Gig Harbor voters will head to the polls again this summer to vote on a sales tax measure supporting the city’s police department and general fund budget. Revenue from the proposed Public Safety Sales Tax, which will appear on the Aug. 6 primary ballot, would

One year after the ‘Blake Fix,’ arrests are up but treatment still lags

Jul 02, 2024 | By: Conor Wilson

April Kelly spent years in and out of jail because of her addiction. Her health suffered, she lost contact with family and eventually ended up homeless. None of it was enough to make her quit. “They talk about reaching your bottom,” she said, “but it didn’t matter what I lost or how alone I was.

Paranoia, alcohol and drug use preceded fatal Ray Nash shooting, documents indicate

Jul 01, 2024 | By: Vince Dice

Pierce County prosecutors charged Melissa Dawn Wells, 34, with a count of second-degree murder and a count of first-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of her 39-year-old boyfriend on June 26 on Ray Nash Drive in Gig Harbor. Documents filed with Pierce County Superior Court indicate that Wells “seemed to be in a psychosis (disconnected

Fireworks allowed just 14 hours in county, not at all in city

Jun 27, 2024 | By: Ed Friedrich

If fire officials can’t persuade people not to give up personal fireworks altogether, they’d be obliged if lighting them was contained to the Fourth.

Deputies say woman shot and killed boyfriend at home on Ray Nash Drive

Jun 27, 2024 | By: Gig Harbor Now Staff

Pierce County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrested 34-year-old woman on suspicion of shooting and killing her boyfriend on the 6300 block of Ray Nash Drive in Gig Harbor late on Wednesday, June 26. Deputies booked the woman into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder, according to a blog media post from the sheriff’s