Police Beat: A runner, a dozing driver, and a legal nonbeliever

Editor’s note: Compiled from reports to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office and Tacoma police.

May 3: The man begged the sheriff’s deputy to let him walk away, but bolting through the parking lot while firing a shot of bear spray ruined his chances.

The deputy cruised through the 9500 block of 176th Street East and spotted a Ford Explorer with a defective brake light pulling into a grocery store parking lot.

After flagging the car down, the deputy spoke to the driver and spotted the passenger. The 31-year-old’s face was familiar. The deputy had dealt with him before.

The man had an active arrest warrant from the state Department of Corrections for missing an appointment. He said he’d been sick and his DOC officer knew about it.

The deputy went back to the patrol car to check the story. The man, carrying a backpack, jumped out of the Explorer and started running. The deputy told him to stop.

“Can’t you let me walk away this once?” the man yelled.

The deputy followed slowly in the patrol car, siren blaring.

“No!” the fleeing man shouted.

The deputy took up the chase on foot. He saw the man fumbling for something in the backpack and heard the hiss of compressed air. A cloud of orange mist wafted behind the man.

The deputy’s eyes watered. He coughed as he ran. The man hopped a chain-link fence. Two more deputies were waiting. The man threw his can of bear spray away before he was wrestled to the ground and cuffed.

A search of the backpack yielded a small clutch purse with a woman’s identification and credit cards. The deputy called the woman, who said someone had broken into her car earlier and later used the credit card at a store.

The man was booked into the Pierce County Jail on the state warrant, along with suspicion of vehicle prowling and possession of stolen property.

May 1: The motor was running as the car sat in the 700 block of South 40th Street. The driver was fast asleep, and the passenger, also dozing, hung halfway out of the open door.

The two officers approached the car, a blue 2009 BMW, and woke the passenger, a 21-year-old woman. The car reeked of beer, and an open 20-ounce can of Icehouse sat in the driver’s cupholder.

An officer pulled the woman out and pushed the ignition button to stop the car. The driver, a 31-year-old man, woke up. He started reaching for the back of his pants, asking the officers why they were bothering him.

He started to get out of the car. An officer told him to stop and asked for his driver’s license. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash.

“What do you want?” the man said, holding the money.

The officer told him to put the money down.

“She’s the driver,” the man said of the woman. “I was just sitting here.”

The officer cuffed one of the man’s hands and eased him out of the car to finish the process. The man twisted and tried to get away. The officer held on. The second officer joined in, while the women shouted at both of them to let the man go while calling the officers names.

The second officer pulled the woman away and put her in the patrol car.

The man said he had no ID, but the officer found a state identification card in his pocket. As he continued to struggle, the officers called for backup.

The man turned toward one of the officers, let loose with a beery belch, and spat in the officer’s face.

The man had multiple active arrest warrants and a suspended driver’s license. He was booked into the Pierce County Jail on the warrants, and suspicion of resisting arrest. The woman was booked for obstructing the officers.

April 30: The 50-year-old woman said she only obeyed federal laws. The local versions landed her in jail, anyway.

She drove a red 1998 Subaru Legacy past the 8800 block of South Hosmer Street. The car had no plates — only a state trip permit with no expiration date, taped to her rear window.

Two officers pulled her over. They walked to each side of the car. One approached the driver’s window and asked her to roll it down. She motioned that the window was broken and cracked the rear driver’s window.

The officer asked her to open her door. She refused. The officer said he stopped her because the car had no plates and the trip permit wasn’t legal.

The woman said the officer had no right to stop her and the permit was just fine. The officer asked for her identification. The woman said federal law didn’t require her to identify herself.

The officer said other laws did. If the woman continued to refuse, she would be arrested.

The woman continued to refuse. The officer said she was under arrest and told her to step out of the car.

The woman refused, and stayed in her seat. She said she was invoking the Fifth Amendment, and the officer couldn’t arrest her.

The officer said he would have to break the window if this continued. The woman made no move. The officer put on a pair of gloves and grabbed a “punch tool” for breaking windows.

The woman opened the door. She dialed 911 on her mobile phone. Officers took hold of her arms. She kept trying to talk on the phone. Eventually, she was cuffed and placed in a patrol car.

The officer told her she was under arrest for obstructing and for violating traffic laws. The woman said she wasn’t “driving,” but “travelling,” that state laws didn’t apply to her, and that she was being “oppressed.” Officers booked her into the Pierce County Jail. Her car was impounded.

This story was originally published May 6, 2017 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Police Beat: A runner, a dozing driver, and a legal nonbeliever."