Officer, credit union employee praised

Centralia Police Chief Bob Berg said a veteran police officer and a TwinStar Credit Union employee are heroes after a harrowing ordeal at the Centralia business Monday.

No one knows how the day would have played out had the employee not mouthed “he has a gun” to Officer Neil Hoium as he responded to a report of suspicious activity at the bank, Berg said.

The woman twice mouthed the words, police said, after a man held a semi-automatic handgun to her head and a short-blade knife to her throat.

She met Hoium at the credit union’s front door. Hoium, who worked for the Chehalis Police Department for more than 20 years before being hired in Centralia about four months ago, grabbed the woman and pulled her away from the building. “Had she not told him that, I do not know what action the suspect would have taken,” Berg said.

Hoium fired two shots at the suspect, who fled. Officers responded at 6:42 p.m. after the woman’s co- worker called police from the parking lot when the woman inside screamed and dropped her phone.

Hoium will be placed on administrative leave, per department policy, while an outside law enforcement agency reviews the incident.

Berg said it appears Hoium was justified in firing his weapon.

By Eric Schwartz

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