A 52-year-old Seattle woman was released from custody Wednesday afternoon after threatening to stab an Island County deputy sheriff with a knife the night before.

Deputy Shawn Warwick was returning to the South Precinct office on East Harbor Road just past the Freeland Post Office shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday night when the incident occurred, Island County Sheriff’s Det. Ed Wallace said Thursday.

Wallace said Warwick noticed a suspicious car outside the precinct, and began to investigate, when the woman came around the corner of the building in the dark and said, “I’m going to stab you.”

“She wanted him to shoot her,” Wallace said. “She was severely intoxicated.”

Warwick shined his flashlight on the woman, and saw that she was carrying a folding knife with the blade out, Wallace said.

He declined to provide further details of the weapon due to an ongoing investigation, but said, “it was large enough to see from a distance.”

“He sees her standing in the dark and says, ‘Hello, who are you?’ and she says, ‘I’m going to stab you’ — not a standard greeting,” Wallace said.

Warwick, maintaining a distance from the woman, replied, ‘I’m not going to shoot you,’” Wallace said. “He talked to her and calmed her down.”

The woman then walked away and got into her car, where she remained sitting, Wallace said.

Warwick summoned Sgt. Jeff Myers from inside the precinct, and together they continued to talk to the woman outside her unlocked car, then disarmed her and took her into custody on a charge of third-degree assault, Wallace said.

There were no injuries in the incident, he said, and the woman was booked into jail.

“The whole thing took just a few minutes,” Wallace said.

He said that although the woman lives in Seattle, she apparently has family ties on South Whidbey.

Wallace said officials inquired about getting a psychological examination for the woman, but were told that she was too intoxicated at the time.

After arraignment Wednesday, the woman was released by the judge from custody, Wallace said. The investigation continues.