High-speed pursuit of Tacoma man fleeing from crash with patrol car ends with arrest

A collision between a 56-year-old man suspected of DUI and a Pierce County deputy’s patrol car Monday night led to a high-speed pursuit into Tacoma’s North End, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

About 33 law enforcement officers from Tacoma Police Department and Pierce County Sheriff’s Department responded during the pursuit, Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss said. Officers used stop sticks and a pursuit maneuver to bring the chase to a halt at Tacoma Avenue and North 5th Street. Moss said the pursuit reached speeds of 75 mph.

Jail records show the suspect was arrested and booked into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree assault, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, hit-and-run causing damage only and driving while intoxicated.

A North End resident, Chantel Spargo, 35, told The News Tribune she was awoken around midnight by the sound of a car speeding past her building with a “ton” of sirens behind it. Spargo shot video of eight police cars driving past before walking with her boyfriend to where the suspect vehicle was stopped.

The collision that led to the pursuit occurred at 11:34 p.m. in the intersection of McKinley Avenue and East 72nd Street. Moss said the suspect struck the patrol car hard enough to disable it, but the deputy was not injured. The suspect vehicle’s bumper was left in the intersection.

About 10 minutes later, Tacoma police located the vehicle near McKinley Avenue and 64th Street. Moss said the driver had trouble staying in one lane and ran a red light. Pierce County deputies took over the pursuit, and stop sticks were deployed near Yakima Avenue and 38th Street, causing the vehicle to start to lose a tire.

The pursuit led into the city’s North End, and Tacoma police successfully stopped the man’s vehicle using a pursuit intervention technique. The driver was taken into custody.

Spargo said she moved to Tacoma from Sumner in 2020, but now she is moving out of the city to University Place because of crime in the area and tensions with people living on the street nearby. She said she has heard screaming at all hours of the night and once had a man break into her building and go into a neighbor’s apartment.

“It’s always the same kind of people that we have come around, and they cause the same problems,” Spargo said. “There’s lots of broken windows.”