Sheriff Derek Sanders says he stopped street racers, tackled wanted man Tuesday night
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders says he stopped street racers and tackled a man after a brief foot pursuit Tuesday night.
Sanders shared details about his busy night on his Facebook page where he is known for frequently and candidly posting about his work.
The first incident occurred around 8 p.m. on Martin Way in east Thurston County. Sanders said he stopped two vehicles for traveling 76 miles per hour in a 50 mph zone. He said he issued them citations for reckless driving and racing.
After deputies cleared that stop, he said they observed two motorcycles racing east on Martin Way from Kinwood Street Southeast at 74 mph. He said one of the drivers pulled over for a traffic stop but the other did not.
Sanders said he initiated a pursuit and followed the motorcyclist as they fled through a gas station parking lot. The motorcyclist began driving the wrong way down Ranger Drive before ultimately pulling over.
He said the fleeing motorcyclist was arrested on suspicion of eluding law enforcement, racing and operating a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock device.
In a separate incident, Sanders said he responded to a “disturbance” at an apartment complex in the Lacey area.
He shared body camera footage of him driving up to the scene at about 9:15 p.m. and contacting a man walking away. In the footage, Sanders can be heard telling the man to stop walking because he’s walking down the middle of road with his back to traffic.
Sanders gets out of his patrol vehicle and approaches the man who can be seen standing on a sidewalk with his hands up. He informs the man he has warrants out for his arrest and directs him to walk towards him.
Instead, the man starts running down the sidewalk. The footage then becomes blurry as Sanders starts pursuing him on foot across Marvin Road Southeast.
“Stop running, you’re going to get tased,” Sanders says in the video.
The man eventually fell “head over heels” through some bushes, Sanders said in his post. Before he could get up, Sanders tackled him to the ground and placed him under arrest.
“I didn’t do anything, bro,” the man can be heard saying repeatedly in the video.
Sanders said the man had multiple warrants out of King County for theft and a court order violation. He said a deputy drove the man to King County andwhere he was booked into jail.
