Covington Police ended September with a busy day-shift involving a shoplifting incident and a man decidedly pointing a gun at traffic.

“A day-in-the-life of a Covington day shift officer is anything but slow,” a Covington City Facebook post stated. “Yesterday, Sept. 30, was a busy day with two good reminders – if you see something suspicious, call it in and you never know when a routine call like a misdemeanor shoplift investigation can place and officer in danger.”

At around 12:30 p.m., police received multiple reports of someone pointing a handgun at passing traffic on State Route 18 from an overpass just outside of Covington, the post stated. King County Sheriff’s Office and Covington Police deputies located two males and their vehicle on the overpass. Deputies made a tactical approach and were able to use de-escalation tactics to gain control of the subjects, the post stated.

“Due to that everyone came away from the situation safely,” the post stated. “It was determined that the handgun was actually a BB gun. The BB gun was a nearly-exact replica of a Glock 17 9mm handgun.”

Just after 2 p.m. the same day, a shoplifter stole clothing from Covington Marshall’s and jumped the fence onto Highway 18 where a getaway car was waiting for him. A Covington officer found the vehicle on State Route 18 in Auburn and conducted a traffic stop, the post stated.

“The suspect tried to run away and our officer ended up wrestling with the suspect on the shoulder of (State Route) 18 for several minutes until backup arrived,” the post stated. “Our officer showed great restraint and only used minimal force despite the suspect’s desperate and aggressive attempts to escape, and unfortunately our officer sustained a shoulder injury along with scrapes and bruises in the process. The suspect, who had a lengthy criminal history, was booked into jail.”

The post included a photo of the BB gun and a real 9mm for comparison.