The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office successfully stopped a vehicle carrying two occupants who fled from Lewis County law enforcement and called 911 repeatedly to report they had a baby in the car and demand officers to stop pursuing on Monday.
Lewis County law enforcement began pursuing the vehicle on state Route 507 toward the Thurston County line for suspected involvement in a second-degree robbery case, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
Lewis County personnel conducted a PIT maneuver, but the suspect was able to keep driving, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
Lewis County law enforcement reportedly called off the pursuit when the vehicle’s occupants called 911 and “demanded (law enforcement) cease their pursuit because they had a baby in the car,” the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office stated in a Facebook post Monday evening.
A Thurston County Sheriff’s Office unit posted on the county line saw the vehicle a short time later “and did not observe a baby in the vehicle, only the two described suspects,” according to the Facebook post. Thurston County Sheriff’s Office personnel engaged in a second pursuit with the vehicle through Bucoda, Tenino and Rainier, trying and failing multiple times to stop the vehicle with spike strips.
Pursuing deputies received permission to utilize a PIT maneuver and while deputies were moving up to attempt the maneuver, “the driver called 911 again to report they had a baby in the car and demanded we stop pursuing,” according to the Facebook post.
A sergeant monitoring the pursuit reportedly advised the suspects to surrender or they would be chased, and the subjects chose to continue fleeing.
A PIT maneuver was successfully conducted just outside of Rainier to prevent the vehicle from reaching the populated area of Yelm, causing the suspect vehicle to leave the roadway, according to the sheriff’s office.
The driver was not compliant and refused to exit the car, prompting law enforcement to use a less lethal 40 mm bean bag round to break his window, “at which point the driver became cooperative,” the sheriff’s office stated in a Facebook post.
Lewis County law enforcement responded to the scene and took custody of the individuals, who had not been charged as of Tuesday afternoon.
“It is believed these individuals were involved in a number of thefts in the Lacey/Olympia area and may have previously fled law enforcement,” according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office
No child was found in the vehicle, the sheriff’s office stated.
