A Tacoma police officer was nearly ran over tonight while trying to break up a large brawl near South Yakima Avenue and South 46^th Street.

The fight erupted just before 9:30 p.m. and officers responded to keep the peace.

When one of the men involved in the fight tried to leave in a vehicle, police say an officer ordered the man to put the car in park and get out.

The man instead tried to drive off as the officer was reaching inside to put the car in park and get the suspect out of the vehicle.

It is unknown …

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A reader called this evening wanting to know why there were about 10 police cars outside the Wal-Mart store at 7001 Bridgeport Way West.

Police spokesman Lt. Chris Lawler said that a shoplifter tried to leave the store and was stopped by security personnel.

The suspect struggled with security and an off-duty police officer for several minutes before he was detained and taken back inside the store for questioning, Lawler said.

An inmate in the work release program today jumped to his death from a window on the 11^th floor of the King County Courthouse, officials said.

The 29-year-old man has not been identified. He leaped from the window at 11:15 a.m.

He was arrested Oct. 11 for an alleged community corrections violations and assigned to work release, according to the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention.

The work release program is a partial custody program that allows inmates to go to work, school or substance abuse treatment during the day and return to a secure facility at night.

An internal …

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Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said today that his office is waiting for further investigation before deciding whether to charge a Milton man with fatally shooting his neighbor.

Chase Langley has been released on his own recognizance and is scheduled to return to court Dec. 22.

“It’s more important to get this right than to do it quickly,” Lindquist said.

Langley was arrested Nov. 23 after several witnesses called police to report that he had shot 34-year-old Edward Christoffersen.

Prosecutors are reviewing the case as possible self-defense.

Few details have been released about what may have prompted the shooting but …

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Clean-up crews are responding to a diesel fuel spill this afternoon in Tacoma’s Blair Waterway.

The waterway is open to marine traffic but vessels should avoid making wakes and should stay away from the clean-up area.

An employee with U.S. Oil & Refining Co. noticed a leak on a partially open bleeder valve during a fuel transfer today, the state Department of Ecology reports. Workers shut the valve, halting the transfer.

An oil containment boom has been deployed.

Based on preliminary observations, crews believe less than 25 gallons of diesel fuel has spilled from the shore side into the Blair …

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One person was injured this morning in an industrial accident on the Tideflats, the Tacoma Fire Department reported.

Tacoma firefighters were called to Edman Company, 2502 Marine View Drive, just after 7:40 a.m.

The crews rescued a worker who was injured on top of a 30-foot tall wood chip hopper. The worker was taken to a local hospital for treatment, the Fire Department reported.

No other information was provided.

Jurors hearing the case against four people accused of helping Maurice Clemmons after he gunned down four Lakewood police officers could get the case Wednesday.

Defense attorneys representing Rickey Hinton, Douglas Davis, Eddie Davis and Letrecia Nelson rested this morning. Closing arguments are set for Wednesday morning.

Douglas Davis’ attorney, Kent Underwood, called five witnesses on his client’s behalf. John O’Melveny, who represents Eddie Davis, recalled Tacoma police detective Jennifer Quilio for some questions this morning.

Neither Philip Thornton, who represents Hinton, nor Keith MacFie, who represents Nelson, called any witnesses.

The defendants are accused of providing medical aid, transportation …

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Washington State Patrol troopers and Pierce County law enforcement officers stopped nearly 300 drivers and arrested 41 suspected drunken drivers during a emphasis patrol Friday night.

The State Patrol and several Pierce County agencies sponsored the countywide DUI emphasis patrol. The event was dedicated to Kelsey Parrett, a 15-year-old girl who was hit and killed by a suspected drunken driver earlier this year in Milton.

There were no serious-injury crashes on Pierce County roadways during Friday’s emphasis patrol, the State Patrol reported. So far this year, 31 people have been killed in crashes investigated by the State Patrol in …

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