By Ty Vinson
The Sacramento Bee
THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. — A Sheriff’s Office in Washington state arrested a 44-year-old man on Monday after he allegedly violated a domestic violence protection order then escaped from a patrol vehicle after he was arrested.
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders posted on social media about the incident at 8:44 p.m. Oct. 5. He said Sheriff’s Office units responded to the Tumwater area for a “domestic violence order violation burglary in progress.”
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According to jail logs, the arrest took place at around 6:08 p.m. on Kinney Road near Black Lake.
Sanders said the suspect initially refused to come outside, but he eventually surrendered and was placed under arrest in the back of a patrol car.
He said while deputies were waiting on scene for the victim, the suspect moved his cuffed hands to the front and pried the interior door panel off. He then used the metal handcuffs to short out the disabled window switch, which rolled the window down.
“This patrol car was an older vehicle in the fleet and was not equipped with window bars,” Sanders said.
The man fled on foot while handcuffed, Sanders said, which led to a multi-hour manhunt. Sanders said the man burglarized a second house and stole tools and clothes.
Sanders said he arrived on scene to assist deputies who were unable to secure additional resources to find the suspect. He said air support was not available, and K-9 Mac had started to become fatigued. Then a single shot rang out nearby.
“I located a homeowner who advised they fired a warning shot to get our attention before pointing us in the direction the suspect fled toward,” Sanders said. “After a short track, K9 Mac located the suspect under a porch and apprehended him. The suspect had a pair of pliers stuck to the handcuffs when he was re-captured.”
Sanders said the man was booked into jail on suspicion of violating a domestic violence protection order, residential burglary with domestic violence, malicious mischief and second-degree escape.
Sanders said he has never heard of a suspect hot wiring a disabled window switch with their metal handcuffs.
“… This is a great example as to why the decision was made in 2023 to invest money into our patrol car fleet,” he said. “All of our patrol vehicles come with window bars now.”
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The officer was stabbed up to seven times, sustaining wounds to his neck and torso, as he fought off the would-be robbers
After the gunfire exchange, the man abandoned the vehicle and attempted to carjack an occupied vehicle; Hartford officers shot the suspect, rendered medical aid and took him into custody
The man fired shots through his windshield as he drove at the cruiser head-on, with the bullets lodging in “on the inside ceiling, inches from the heads” of the three officers inside
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