A Tacoma, Washington, policeman was seen driving through a downtown crowd on Saturday night, running over at least one person and sending him to the hospital.
The policeman responded to several calls from a group of people blocking an intersection in the city center when the crowd started attacking the police car, the Tacoma Police Department said. Tacoma’s interim police chief, Mike Ake, said he was “committed” to the department’s full cooperation in investigating the incident.
“I am concerned that our department is experiencing another incident of the use of deadly force,” said Ake.
Several videos of spectators were posted online about the incident, where the police car can be seen passing over a person and moving on. Pierce County officials are taking over the investigation of the incident as an independent investigation team.
A crowd of about 100 people and several cars were blocking an intersection on Pacific Avenue when the department arrived at the center, according to a police statement. A Tacoma police car was surrounded by the crowd and the policeman struggled to leave.
“People hit the body of the police vehicle and its windows when the police officer was stopped on the street,” said Tacoma police. “The policeman, fearing for his safety, tried to retreat, but failed because of the crowd.”
The officer then proceeded with the car, with lights and sirens, hitting at least one person. The condition of the individual who was taken to the local hospital is unknown.
The police said the policeman stopped after leaving and asked for medical help. The police officer was not identified by the police.
Social media users referred to the event as a “car meeting”, with some reports posting videos of people in cars making donuts at the intersection, while some in the crowd filmed on their phones. Videos posted of the car’s acrobatics at what appeared to be the same intersection showed tire tracks similar to those seen in videos posted from the Tacoma police vehicle.
The police did not characterize the crowd that blocked the Tacoma intersection.
