Seven police officers and three other people were hospitalized Friday after three vehicles collided during a high-speed chase in North Spokane.
Interim Spokane Police Chief Justin Lundgren said he spoke with all seven officers in the hospital, and he expects them to make full recoveries. Lundgren said his understanding is that no one is in critical condition. A police canine was also injured in the crash.
"Any injury is tragic, but I am grateful it did not result in the loss of life," Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said in a statement.
Yellow and red barricade tape cordoned off the scene of the crash for a block in each direction. Debris and chunks of the suspect car littered the street as the armored vehicle sat near the middle of the intersection. Lundgren said detailed diagrams and measurements of the entire scene would be needed before that area of the road could open up again.
It all started with a two-minute chase that began when officers in the patrol car noticed that the suspect car matched the description of a recent drive-by shooting. Lundgren did not specify which shooting.
Lundgren said officers in the patrol car were just finishing a search warrant for a separate case when they encountered the suspect vehicle in the area of Indiana Avenue and Division Street around 1 p.m. The officers tried to initiate a traffic stop, but the suspects took off eastbound on West Carlisle Avenue. The patrol car began to pursue the suspects and called for additional backup.
The armored vehicle was heading south on Oak Street in an attempt to cut off the chase when the suspect vehicle struck the armored vehicle and spun it around. The patrol car, with the canine unit inside, was involved in the collision as well, according to Lundgren.
Spokane police have responded to seven other shootings in July, including three drive-bys.
One drive-by shooting above Emerson Park killed 19-year-old Maria Kapustin. Police responded to the shooting in the early morning hours of July 7 around the 1300 block of West Courtland Avenue in North Central. Kapustin died at the scene, and no one has been arrested in connection with her death as of this week, according to police.
Last week, police responded to two more drive-by shootings, one in the 6000 block of North Addison Street. According to a department news release, a group of minors was in the middle of a fight when one teen got into a car and fired a gun. Law enforcement arrested one 18-year-old .
Two days prior, neighbors reported hearing four gunshots around 6:30 a.m. in the area of North Wall Street and West Francis Avenue, the department said. Investigators found bullet holes in a nearby home and attempted to conduct interviews of the people who lived there, but they were not cooperative, police said. They believe this was a targeted drive-by, according to the release. No injuries were reported.
Recently, controversy has arisen over whether police officers should be allowed to pursue suspected criminals' vehicles. In 2021, a state law was enacted that regulated when police are allowed to chase after suspects. That law was overturned this year as of June 6. Now the law provides that police can pursue when there is "reasonable suspicion a person violated the law."
According to a November 2022 study from the University of Washington, vehicular deaths caused by police following suspects decreased by 80% in Washington state after the 2021 law was in place. Eleven people were killed in a 15-month period prior to the 2021 law, and only two people died after the law was enacted, the study said.
Others believe that more deaths will occur if police are unable to legally pursue suspects.
Lundgren said the incident underscores the dangers of policing.
"The disturbing thing of an incident like this is you have people who are suspected of committing a drive-by shooting, which is an incredibly reckless and dangerous activity," Lundgren said. "Then when officers go to try to apprehend them, they are involved in a high-speed pursuit that, but for the grace of God, didn't kill anyone. Fortunately, all of our officers are banged up, but OK... It shows the incredible challenge that it takes to bring these people to justice."
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