Wash. Deputies Play 'Real-Life Game of Frogger' as Suspect Runs in Traffic, Grabs Back of Truck
What to know
• A 31-year-old man was arrested Tuesday by Pierce County sheriff's deputies after foot pursuit, briefly clinging to a moving box truck before being caught in a nearby housing complex.
• Deputies said the suspect resisted arrest after he was found tampering with a stolen vehicle and had an untreated gunshot wound from days earlier.
• He was booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, resisting arrest and two outstanding felony warrants.
Why did the suspect cross the road? To escape arrest and hitch a ride on a box truck along the way, according to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.
A 31-year-old man was booked into the Pierce County Jail Tuesday after an on-foot police chase across Highway 512 in what the Pierce County Sheriff spokesperson Carly Cappetto called a “real-life game of Frogger”.
At around 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, a Pierce County Sheriff's deputy approached a suspicious vehicle where a man was tampering with ignition wires in the 10600 block of Aqueduct Drive East in Parkland, Cappetto told the News Tribune.
The male suspect told the officer that the car was stuck in idle. He and two other passengers were waiting for their friend to fetch tools to fix it.
After another deputy arrived and investigated, they determined the vehicle was stolen and attempted to detain the suspects. The driver resisted the arrest, holding onto the female passenger and refusing to let go, as seen in Pierce County Sheriff’s Office body camera footage.
After a scuffle with the officers the male suspect broke free and sprinted toward State Route 512, where he was able to weave his way through traffic and grab onto the back of a box truck.
His hasty hitch didn’t take him far. About 50 yards into the ride the truck driver realized he had an unwanted passenger and pulled over.
The suspect then jumped off the truck and ran into the Mandalay Townhomes complex, where he was tackled and apprehended by a sergeant. Following his arrest, authorities found an open gunshot wound in his arm from three nights prior, Cappetto said.
He was booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of possession of stolen property, motor vehicle theft, resisting arrest and for having two previous felony warrants.
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