Olympia police arrest man for allegedly selling narcotics from a parked car downtown
Olympia police tackled and arrested a 41-year-old man early Thursday after they say they caught him in the act of selling drugs downtown.
Officers spotted a parked silver car at about 3:40 a.m. in the area of Ninth Avenue Southeast and Capitol Way South, Lt. Paul Lower of the Olympia Police Department said. Multiple people came and went from the car, so officers deemed the situation suspicious and contacted the driver and two passengers.
The officers observed “narcotics” in the driver’s lap and detained all three of them, Lower said. The passengers exited the car when directed to, but officers said the driver refused, locked his door and became argumentative.
Lower said an officer opened the unlocked passenger side door and pulled the driver out to arrest him. The man allegedly resisted the officer and attempted to push them.
Officers took the man to the ground and noticed he was wearing a ballistic vest underneath his shirt, Lower said. At one point, he managed to break free and reached into the waistline underneath his shirt, but Lower said officers tackled him.
Officers reported the man continued to struggle, Lower said, so they placed him in a full body restraint.
The two passengers told officers the man was selling narcotics and police interrupted a sale, Lower said. Officers then towed his vehicle to the Olympia Police Department so it could be searched with a warrant.
Lower said he did not know how much or what kind of narcotics police recovered. However, he confirmed the man was from Olympia and did not carry a weapon.
Officers booked the man into the county jail Thursday on suspicion of unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance, synthetic narcotic.
Additionally, he was accused of obstructing a public servant or officer and resisting arrest, according to the jail log.
