Retired Washington detective who narrowly survived being shot in line of duty found dead in lake

A Washington detective who retired shortly after being shot in the line of duty was found dead after a bizarre boating incident last Saturday.

The body of David Easterly, 67, was pulled out of Flathead Lake in Montana on Tuesday afternoon after he jumped off a boat into the water three days prior and never emerged, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

His body was turned over to the Montana State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy while the sheriff investigates the cause of death.

In March 2023, Easterly was shot twice while serving an eviction notice alongside two deputies in a Seattle neighborhood. Both bullets skirted past his protective vest, and he was struck in the left chest area and his left side.

An investigation concluded that the irate tenant, who then shot and killed himself, opened fire first.

The tenant had barricaded himself inside and opened fire on the three officers once they entered, KOMO reported.

Struck in the chest, Easterly was convinced he was going to die — and almost did.

He told his partners to tell his family he loved them before being carted away to a nearby hospital, where he underwent multiple surgeries and even lost one of his kidneys in the process, the outlet reported.

He also underwent multiple blood transfusions and noted that “most of the blood that flows through me right now doesn’t even belong to me,” as he explained how incredibly grateful he was for the good Samaritan donors who helped keep him alive, he told the outlet.

Easterly spent a staggering seven weeks recovering and lost more than 50 pounds in the process.

He decided to retire soon after he recovered.

“No, that’s it, I’m done. That’s it. I’m a little too old for this game. Yeah,” Easterly told the outlet at the time.

Easterly served with the King County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years.