This story is an example of one of the reasons many law enforcement agencies have no-pursuit policies and why there is controversy around police pursuits in the first place.
For years, the Tacoma Police Department has had a no-pursuit policy.
CLARIFICATION: Tacoma police point out that their pursuit policy is value-based. It’s one of the more restrictive policies and allows for pursuits in some circumstances.
Expect to see more lights over the upcoming weekend.
The Washington State Patrol and King County have announced increased patrols on the roadways to look for suspected drunken drivers who’ve done too much celebrating before getting behind the wheel.
The State Patrol will have more troopers on the highways in Pierce and Thurston counties. Last year, the stepped up emphasis resulted in no fatality collisions in Pierce or Thurston counties.
In King County, most communities will have extra police patrolling the streets. The extra patrols begin tonight and continue through New Year’s Day (aka Monday).
You’ve
…State and federal authorities announced Thursday that they’ve destroyed more than 130,000 pot plants in Washington state so far this year as part of a joint eradication program.
More than 340 people also were arrested and 190 weapons seized as part of the Washington Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration reported.
The number of plants destroyed is nearing last year’s record of 135,000, the DEA said in a news release.
Much of the pot is being grown indoors by “Asian affiliated drug trafficking organizations” that have moved to Washington from Canada to avoid stricter
…There have been some changes this month at the crime-fighting organization, Safe Streets.
Steve Jewell, formerly of the Washington State Patrol and Algona Police Department, joined the agency Dec. 1 as its deputy director. He will be working with the executive director and board of directors to plan, direct, execute and evaluate the programs and provide enhanced accountability of campaign initiatives, according to a press release.
Jewell previously chaired “the Governor’s Methamphetamine Coordinating Committee and worked the Washington State Methamphetamine Initiative’s representatives to develop and deploy a statewide drug-endangered children protocol,” the press release states.
In
…I have written the following story for the homepage. We’ve been having some technical difficulties this morning so I am posting it here first.
An overnight storm dumped one to three inches of snow across the eastern part of Pierce and King counties.
However, few major problems were reported because of the snowfall. Puget Sound Energy reported scattered power outages in Orting, Buckley, South Prairie, Yelm, Issaquah, Duvall, Carnation and Sammamish. Assessors have been dispatched to look at the damage.
A Washington State Patrol dispatcher said there were a few minor collisions along the State Route 702.
…The National Weather Service in Seattle is holding a contest to name the wind storm that wrecked havoc on the region over the night of Dec. 14-15.
An announcement about the contest is on the agency’s web site.
Other big windstorms have fallen on a significant day or had something distinctive happen, making them easier to name. You have the Inauguration Day Wind Storm of 1993, the Turkey Day Storm of 1983, or the Hood Canal Wind Storm of 1979.
The announcement goes on to say:
…So, what do we call this big blow?
Washington State Patrol troopers were on the scene Tuesday night of a car versus pedestrian accident in Spanaway.
The accident occurred at Pacific Highway South and South 173rd Street about 7:30 p.m. and blocked one lane. A dispatcher reports the injuries were non-life threatening.
MORNING UPDATE: The State Patrol reports that a 27-year-old Tacoma man suffered serious injuries in this accident.
A woman was driving south on Pacific Highway just after 6:40 p.m. She was preparing to turn east onto 173rd Street South when she hit the man, who was wearing dark clothing and standing in the
…Not five minutes after my last post I heard a Tacoma police officer on the scanner report that another fight broke out in the Food Court.
Three people were taken into custody. Bystanders were milling about and the crowd was growing, so the officer asked for others to respond as a show of force.