911 callers draw heavy police response to a west Olympia assault Tuesday night

A series of 911 calls summoned about a half dozen police officers to a domestic violence incident Tuesday evening on Olympia’s west side, according to Olympia police.

About 7:40 p.m., police were dispatched to the area of Ninth Avenue Southwest and Fern Street after multiple people called 911 to report that a man had hit a woman while they were walking.

Police caught up with the man and woman, both in their 30s, at a bus stop near Black Lake Boulevard, said Police Lt. Paul Lower. Police separated the two and then interviewed the woman, who acknowledged she was in a dating relationship with the man.

As the man and woman were walking in the area, they got into an argument and she said the man head-butted her, Lower said. He then yanked away a bag the woman was holding because it contained her cell phone. She had threatened to call police, Lower said.

The woman was treated at the scene for a bruise to her face, while the man was arrested on suspicion of fourth-degree assault, third-degree theft for taking her phone, and obstruction because the man refused to identify himself, Lower said.

Lower said so many police officers were sent because the suspect was on the move, and it helps to have multiple vehicles in the area in the event they need to set up a perimeter to find that person.

This story was originally published August 28, 2025 at 5:00 AM.