Slush Pile: Running from the Law

2007 Slush Pile

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Running from the Law

2007 Reader Submission
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State trooper shoots, kills driver near Highway 101

Driver had arrest warrants, struck patrol car Jeremy Pawloski The Olympian http://www.theolympian.com/news/story/183136.html

A State Patrol trooper shot and killed a man who fled from the trooper Monday during a high-speed chase that started on U.S. Highway 101 near Little Creek Casino and ended in the Steamboat Island area, according to State Patrol.

(Update: Driver, trooper involved in pursuit identified)

State Patrol and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office would not release the name of the male trooper who was involved in the shooting, but Sheriff’s Lt. Chris Mealy said he is a 10-year-plus veteran of the patrol.

Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock did not have the name of the deceased Monday night.

The shooting occurred on Stonecrest Lane, off of the southbound lanes of Highway 101 near Steamboat Island Road. The white sedan was immobilized after driving over spike strips that were laid out on Highway 101 by law enforcement.

The chase started when the white sedan sped away from the trooper’s patrol car about 5:30 p.m., State Patrol Trooper Brandy Kessler said. The trooper, who was on his way to an unrelated crash, had his sirens and lights on, and drove up behind the white sedan on Highway 101, Kessler said.

But the driver of the white sedan failed to yield, and fled at speeds that reached as high as 90 miles per hour, she said. The chase lasted about eight minutes.

“Obviously, if he would have just yielded to the trooper, none of this would have happened,” Kessler said. “He wouldn’t have been pursued if he had just pulled over and let the trooper by.”

A female passenger and a 9-month-old boy who were inside the sedan were unhurt, Kessler said. The woman passenger was being questioned by detectives, Mealy said.

Mealy did not have information about whether the male shooting victim had a weapon during the shooting.

The shooting victim had felony warrants out of Montana and misdemeanor warrants out of Aberdeen, Kessler said. He also was driving with a revoked license, she said. The car had Montana license plates and was not reported as stolen.

Mealy and Kessler did not have information about the number of gunshots that were fired.

The white sedan struck the patrol car in the Stonecrest Lane area immediately prior to the shooting, Kessler said.

“A vehicle is considered a deadly weapon,” when it is used to ram a patrol car, Kessler said.

Mealy and Kessler said they had not talked to the trooper involved in the shooting, and they did not have details about what happened.

The trooper involved in the shooting is on paid, administrative leave pending the results of an investigation by the Thurston County “officer-involved shooting team,” which consists of detectives from the Olympia Police Department, Lacey Police Department and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

After the team finishes its investigation, the results are submitted to the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Mealy said.

Typically, the prosecutor’s office determines whether officer-involved shootings are justified, or warrant the filing of criminal charges.

Jeremy Pawloski covers public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jpawloski@theolympian.com.

Man killed by state trooper near Olympia hit by two gunshots http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/185466.html

The Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A man who was killed by a state trooper following a high-speed chase north of town died of two gunshot wounds to the chest, an autopsy determined.

Harley Andrew Moniz, 20, of Bozeman, Mont., died of internal bleeding from being shot after he deliberately backed his white Acura sedan into a State Patrol cruiser, Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock said Wednesday.

Moniz did not have a firearm, sheriff's Lt. Christopher Mealy said.

Patrol officials said Trooper Jon C. Nelson, 42, an 11-year veteran, was heading south in response to an unrelated accident Monday evening on U.S. Highway 101, emergency lights flashing, when he tried to pass Moniz, who took off at about 90 mph.

With Nelson in pursuit, Moniz used the shoulder to pass other vehicles for about eight minutes until a spike strip placed by law enforcement officers deflated the tires at the Steamboat Island Road exit.

Soon afterward, with his 17-year-old fiancee and their 9-month-old son in the car, Moniz rammed the patrol cruiser and Nelson opened fire with his service revolver, officials said. The young woman and child were not hurt.

Nelson has been placed on paid administrative leave, a standard procedure in police shootings.

The results of toxicology tests to determine whether Moniz was under the influence of alcohol or other drugs are not expected for about eight weeks, Warnock said.

Moniz was wanted on a felony warrant from Bozeman for parole violation on a suspended sentence for convictions for burglary, theft and issuing bad checks, Gallatin County, Mont., Prosecutor Eric Kitzmiller said.

Submitted on 08/10/2007

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: The Olympian, Olympia WA, 8-7-07

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Other
This sounds like a fairly straightforward case of a justified shooting by a police officer. There's really nothing Darwin-worthy about what I've read here. Thanks for sending it in though.

Chip said:
Definitely Toss: Lacks Excellence
Just another crook dying when trying to elude the law. We do appreciate the story though.

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2007 Slush Pile

Running from the Law

2007 Reader Submission Pending Acceptance

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance