A Washington state police officer has been placed on temporary leave after his patrol vehicle plowed through a crowd of pedestrians late Saturday, reports The Tacoma News-Tribune.
Footage provided by an eyewitness to the newspaper shows the patrol vehicle approaching a group of pedestrians who had allegedly gathered at an intersection in downtown Tacoma to watch a street race.
As the vehicle moved closer in the intersection, more people could see it walking in front of it. It could then be seen that the vehicle was pulling away before accelerating forward in the crowd and apparently driving some people on.
According to the local newspaper, one person was sent to hospital after the incident.
“There were several vehicles and about 100 people blocked the intersection when officers arrived on the scene. “Tacoma police officers who responded to the location began cleaning the intersection of vehicles and people for the safety of those who gathered and people who wanted to use the street,” the Tacoma police station told the newspaper.
“During the operation, a responding Tacoma police vehicle was surrounded by the crowd,” the department continued. The agency claims that “people hit the body of the police vehicle and its windows when the officer was stopped in the street.”
‘The officer, for fear of his safety, tried to back up, but could not succeed due to the crowd. The officer had his lights and sirens activated, ‘the office said, adding:’ While trying to pull himself out of an unsafe position, the officer drove forward and hit one person and possibly had an impact on others. ‘
The department said the investigation into the incident had been handed over to provincial officials.
In a statement to the newspaper, Mike Ake, interim police chief, said he was concerned the department was experiencing another use of deadly violence. ‘
“I send my thoughts to anyone who was injured during the event tonight, and am committed to the full co – operation of our department in the independent investigation and to assessing the actions of the department’s response during the incident,” he added.
The department faced investigations amid weeks of protests against police brutality following the death of Manuel Ellis in March last year.
Ellis, a Black man, died in Tacoma at the age of 33. The office of Pierce County Medical Investigator has ruled that his death was a homicide after he was found to have died of a respiratory attack caused by physical restraint, after local police confined him to handcuffs on the ground.
– Updated at 09:12