Police reports for the week of Jan. 11
No need to yell
Dec. 27 – Gig Harbor police officers were dispatched to a home on Bering Street around 12:02 a.m. regarding a physical domestic violence situation. When officers arrived on scene, they could hear yelling from the sidewalk outside of the home. Police walked into the residence through the ajar front door. Officers reported they saw a couple on the home’s stairwell yelling at each other, with two teenaged children trying to keep them apart. The couple was yelling so loudly they could not hear or notice police standing in their doorway.
When police flashed their lights at the couple, they came down from the stairs. One officer took the female suspect into the downstairs living room while the second officer stayed upstairs with the male suspect. The male suspect told police he owned the home and the female suspect was his ex-wife. The male suspect kept yelling at the officer and refused to give any proof of identification to the officer. The officer told the suspect he was going to detain him because he was yelling and acting aggravated.
When the male suspect refused to cooperate, the officer attempted to detain him a second time. The suspect then ran to a nearby wall, turned around and stood in a stance while yelling at the officer, according to the police report. The first officer reported he was afraid the male suspect was going to attack him so he hit the suspect three times in the thigh with a wooden baton. When the male suspect tried to turn around to avoid the baton, the officer struck him twice near his elbow. The second officer than came from the other room and helped detain the male suspect.
The second officer said the female suspect told police she was choked by her ex-husband, but her neck and eyes showed no signs of choking. The female suspect refused medical aid. The male suspect said the female suspect had hit him in the back of the head with a beer bottle. Officers observed the male suspect’s head but found no marks or bruises. Emergency medical services arrived at the scene to check on the male suspect’s head and arm. The two teenagers who were found at the scene said they did not witness the fight. Neither suspects were arrested that night but were told to obtain no-contact orders for each other.
Don’t make pit stops with the getaway car
Jan. 2 – Gig Harbor police officers were dispatched at 12:38 p.m. to a shoplifting incident at the Walgreens store located on Borgen Boulevard. An employee had called police saying she witnessed a male suspect steal an undescribed item and leave in a red Ford Explorer. The witness told police there was a woman in the Ford. While en route, police spotted a red Ford Explorer heading east on state Route 16. The vehicle on the highway matched the witness’s description and the driver matched the description as well.
The officer who spotted the vehicle alerted nearby patrol, who then attempted to track down the Ford, but to no avail. When officers arrived at the Walgreens, they reviewed security videos that showed the suspect removing a bottle of vodka and two remote-controlled drones from the store without stopping to pay. The car in the video matched the vehicle seen on the highway. The officer at the store relayed the information to other officers. At 12:56 p.m. another officer radioed in to say he spotted the suspect at Ace Hardware on Point Fosdick Drive.
The investigating officer arrived at the scene at 1:01 p.m. after the suspect and his vehicle had been stopped by two other Gig Harbor police officers. Police matched the suspect to the description given by the witnesses and proceeded to arrest the man. During the arrest, police officers found a small plastic bag with white pills, which a pharmacist later confirmed was Xanax. Police found the stolen drones and vodka in the backseat of the Ford along with drug paraphernalia. The suspect was booked into Pierce County Jail.
Yes, you will be stopped for texting and driving
Jan. 2 – An off-duty police officer in a marked patrol car noticed a vehicle and driver fluctuating speeds on state Route 16 around 7:07 p.m., indicating to the officer that the driver was either impaired or distracted. The officer changed lanes to be be next to the car and noticed a bright white light coming from the front seat.
The officer stated he saw the driver holding a phone up to his face. The officer then put on the patrol car’s lights and attempted to pull the driver over. The driver was contacted and issued a citation for personal use of a communication device while driving. The officer reported the driver was so distracted he did not notice a marked police car driving next to him for a “decent” amount of time.
Don’t take shopping carts on the trail
Jan. 7 – While on patrol, a Gig Harbor police officer noticed a man pushing a shopping cart full of cardboard boxes on Olympic Drive Northwest around 2 a.m. The officer contacted the man, who said he was taking the cardboard to his campsite on the Cushman Trail. The officer asked the man where he got the shopping cart, and the man told the officer he found it at Fred Meyer. After identifying the man, the officer found he was wanted on warrants. The man was placed under arrest and the officer returned the car to the Fred Meyer on Olympic Drive Northwest. The suspect was taken to Kitsap County Jail.
This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Police reports for the week of Jan. 11."