MARYSVILLE — A mechanical problem in a Marysville police car may have caused an officer to crash into a building earlier this month, officials said.
The Marysville Police Department plans to review the March 6 crash, which also involved a fugitive on a bicycle, Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said. No serious injuries were reported.
The incident started at 4:10 p.m. when an officer spotted the suspect riding his bike across 100th Street NE. The officer recognized the man from previous cases, Lamoureux said. Court records show the officer had arrested the man for methamphetamine possession in 2014.
“As soon as (the suspect) saw me, he did a large loop around the parking lot trying to stay out of my sight,” the officer wrote in the recent arrest affidavit. The officer confirmed with dispatchers that the 35-year-old Marysville man had warrants.
The officer “pulled up near the bicyclist and called him out by name, told him to stop, and the bicyclist took off,” Lamoureux said.
A chase ensued into the semi-circular driveway of the Windsor Square Retirement Community at 9912 48th Drive NE. The chase lasted “less than a block,” Lamoureux said.
A second officer heard the commotion and also drove into the driveway to catch the bicyclist. He couldn’t stop his patrol car in time and crashed into an apartment.
“His vehicle didn’t stop and it slid into the building,” Lamoureux said. “At the same time his vehicle hit the building, the bicyclist hit the back of his patrol car … He kept pedaling right into the back of the patrol car.”
The impact from the squad car pushed in the front wall of the apartment, including a large three-panel window, by roughly a foot. The fugitive then reportedly tried to run and was stopped when shocked with a stun gun.
He allegedly had seven stolen debit cards with him at the time. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail later that day for investigation of possessing stolen property. He also had warrants on old cases for DUI and trespassing. He remained behind bars Tuesday.
The man has a felony meth conviction from 2014, as well as more than 20 misdemeanors, most involving drugs and driving offenses, court records show.
During his 2014 arrest, he reportedly told the officer, “if I was a good man, I would just let him go home for the night.”
He “went on to tell me it was oppression of his person the way warrants were issued,” the officer wrote in 2014.
It was the same officer who spotted the man March 6. The arrest report does not mention the patrol car crash. It only says the man “refused to stop. He crashed his bike and was Tased.”
The investigation by collision detectives will look into the possibility that a mechanical problem with the police car contributed to the crash, Lamoureux said. He declined to specify what kind of problem is suspected.
“The equipment failure is still being looked into,” he said. “This will include a mechanical inspection.”
The property owner’s insurance company is working on the repairs, officials said. The insurance company is expected to seek reimbursement from the city.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
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