Body camera footage released by the Centralia Police Department Wednesday shows Centralia officer Deter Voetberg apprehending the male suspect in last week’s pursuit that ended in a crash along Interstate 5 in Lewis County.
The video, recorded June 25, shows officers running through a field near Airport Road following the suspect ahead of them toward the Chehalis River, with Voetberg leading the on-foot pursuit. As Voetberg approaches the river, he is heard yelling to the suspect, “I’m going to tase you,” while flashing a Taser. He is then heard reporting, “He’s crossing the river. He’s in the water.”
The video shows Voetberg fighting through thick bushes before locating an angler with a boat in the Chehalis River, yelling, “Can you keep an eye on this guy? Bring your boat over here. Can you come over here?”
The angler, identified as Stanley Combs, is shown slowly approaching the officers as Voetberg directs officers toward the other end of the shore to attempt to corner the swimming suspect. Voetberg and Officer Franklyn Ramos board the boat, and Voetberg asks Ramos if he can swim, to which Ramos replies, “Yeah, I can swim.”
The video shows the angler leading the two officers down the river and Voetberg directing the suspect to get out of the water and up on land. The suspect is heard telling the officers, “You can’t get me” while swimming away.
The suspect then repeatedly tells the officers, “Stop trying to kill me. You’re going to kill me,” to which Voetberg replies, “We’re not going to kill you. We’re going to arrest you.” The officers ask Combs if he has a rope, and Combs tells them he has a rope in a box. The suspect is heard mentioning the officers’ bodycams, and Voetberg confirms to him that, “Everything is being recorded” as they close in on the swimming suspect.
Ramos is heard telling the suspect, “No one is trying to kill you man. Right now we’re trying to keep you safe.” The suspect repeats claims that the police are trying to kill him and his dog, which the police consistently deny to him while tossing the blue rope for the suspect to grab.
Ramos yells to the suspect to head toward the bank with tree limbs, and the suspect mutters something that the officers indicate as, “I’m doing my job.”
As the swimmer is seen approaching what appears to be a beaver dam, he asks the officers, “What are you doing?” Voetberg answers, “We’re going to follow you until we arrest you.” The suspect is heard saying, “Go do your jobs,” to which Ramos replies, “We’re doing our job.”
The suspect is heard laughing and saying, “No you’re not” before muttering something unintelligible.
While the suspect slows his swimming speed, Ramos asks him for his name. The suspect appears to reply, “Jesus.” Ramos tells the suspect, “OK, Jesus, you look like you’re getting tired.”
The suspect is seen climbing onto a tree limb to the apparent beaver dam, and the officers tell him to get on land. The two officers leave the boat, and Voetberg is seen chasing down the suspect and putting his knee into his back while yelling, “You’re under arrest. Put your hands behind your back.”
The suspect is heard yelling, “We have to save America. This is for America,” before Voetberg tells him to stop resisting. The suspect continues by asking Voetberg, “Do you love God? Do you love Jesus? Do you love Jesus? Answer me. Do you love Jesus? Do you love Jesus or not? Do you?”
The video ends with Voetberg placing the suspect in handcuffs. Officers transported the suspect to the Fort Borst Park boat launch. The Washington State Patrol began chasing the suspect for DUI and hit-and-run in Pierce County, and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) joined the pursuit and took the lead as the suspect entered Lewis County.
A TCSO patrol vehicle deployed a Grappler device, causing the suspect to “leave the roadway and come to a stop in a field” near the Chehalis and Centralia border on Airport Road, according to a Facebook post from Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders and information provided to The Chronicle at the scene.
There were no reported injuries and no vehicle damage. Sanders rewarded Combs with a challenge coin for “stepping up and helping get a dangerous driver in custody.”
