March 20, 2023

"Graphic videos show a police SUV ramming a crowd and running over at least one person in Tacoma, Washington, on Saturday."

"In videos from the scene, the police SUV revs its engine while a group of people surrounds it in the street. The SUV briefly backs up and then charges forward as people in the crowd scream. One person can be seen on the ground as the front and rear wheels of the vehicle roll over them."

BuzzFeed News reports (with video if you choose to see it).

96 comments:

rcocean said...

Ok, so now we're back to caring about police brutality and malsfesance? Tell that to the dead J6 protesters and those still rotting in prison or were injured by tear gas and flash bangs!

Real American said...

Criminals doing criminal shit. And if you surround a police car, impeding the officer's ability to follow the criminals, and start attacking the police car, then you're obstructing justice and are way more than a mere "spectator." No life threatening injuries? They got off easy.

tommyesq said...

I think the revving engine was one of the cars doing donuts, not the police SUV. At least one person was hit by both the front and rear wheels of the SUV, amazing the injury wasn't serious.

Wonder if the cop will be treated differently than the Charlottesville driver.

Wa St Blogger said...

Tacoma-men square?

Seriously, if you trap someone in a car using your bodies and then attack the vehicle, don't be surprised that they attempt to drive away. You body can only block the car so long as the driver is reluctant to to do you harm. That is not an unlimited threshold.

Pro-tip, don't be the guy in front or behind the vehicle.

Law enforcement can only be effective if the people are willing to submit to their authority. there are only 1.6 officer per 1000 people on average, so once the people decide to ignore police, things will get ugly for both sides. People in Tacoma thought they could interfere with the lawful activities of the police. That is not a good trend for America.

Joe Smith said...

FA FO?

Gusty Winds said...

"The officer, fearing for his safety, tried to back up, but was unable to do so because of the crowd," the Tacoma Police press release said.

So are the cops allowed to fear for their safety, or are they supposed to sit still until someone shoots them through the window?

Old and slow said...

I must be getting old because once I would have felt entirely sympathetic to the idiots crowding around the cop SUV. Now I just wonder why they are so damned stupid.

jaydub said...

Weird that this incident supposedly happened two days ago, but the Buzzfeed article is dated 24 Jan, 2021 and also update on the same date.

Big Mike said...

There’s nothing in Virginia law that requires a police officer to avoid using (potentially) lethal force and accept a beat-down from a mob engaged in illegal activities. Possibly the laws of Washington (and Wisconsin) are different.

Mattman26 said...

Note to self: Don't surround or stand in front of a police vehicle with its flashing lights on.

Also known as, don't be a fricking moron.

Mark said...

In the street. Surrounding the cop vehicle.

That's not a crowd, that's a mob. A threatening mob.

Mark said...

I also see that this story is two years old.

John Marzan said...

I don't know which is worse

https://youtu.be/Jh6ylIQbIKY

Mason G said...

It's almost like being threatened by a crowd can cause people to act unpredictably.

I wonder if the driver of the vehicle was aware of the mostly peaceful protests that have happened around the country- you know, the ones where bricks have been thrown and buildings set on fire? If so, that might possibly explain the driver's reaction to being surrounded, don't you think?

YoungHegelian said...

Why is it that the mob thought it could interfere in the police's response to a call? That it's okay to swarm a police car and (so the police claim) beat on it?

There has never been a moment in my life that I doubted that forcibly blocking a police car might end up with me suffering bodily harm. Nor have I ever doubted that thwarting a police officer in the performance of his duty might end up with me dead.

What is the matter with these people?

Creola Soul said...

This should happen more often. Just as the climate protesters that glue themselves to roads should be left there. Enough is enough.

gspencer said...

"The SUV briefly backs up and then charges forward as people in the crowd scream."

Tony S, I thought I told you to back the f*** off Beansie!

Richie Aprile: I did, then I put it in drive.

Leland said...

Police should take that SUV into custody.

M said...

Why would they think they could surround ANY vehicle without repercussions? Being surrounded by a crowd is a PHYSICAL THREAT. I would have run them over to get away too. What the heck is wrong with these people who think they can intimidate and threaten others with no push back? They are like children who think they can get away with hitting mommy and daddy because they are smaller than adults and therefore adults can’t hit them back.

Edmund said...

It is from 2021. A followup story says that the officer wasn't charged with anything.
https://www.knkx.org/2022-07-14/pierce-county-prosecutor-says-tacoma-officer-who-drove-through-crowd-was-attacked-by-violent-mob-will-not-be-charged

retail lawyer said...

Its a start!

alanc709 said...

I live in Tacoma, but I didn't see anything about this. Of course, the Morning News Tribune is so left-wing biased I stopped taking it, and the local news channels are all Inslee apologists, so I don't watch them. But nothing about it in my Facebook newsfeed either, unless it got buried in the avalanche of ads in Facebook the last couple of days. My first reaction, was good on the cop. Stop coddling the left.

MadisonMan said...

Given that this is 2 years old, I'm curious how it turned out. A web search tells me he (I think) was not charged with anything.

Dude1394 said...

Cool...Lynch mob hurt when victim uses weapon at their disposal to protect themself.

Dude1394 said...

Two year old news report to try and change the subject from the Biden family getting paid by china.

BarrySanders20 said...

Civility bullshit. Bullshit, that is in expecting the surrounded driver to be civil. If I'm alone, maybe I don't floor it, depending on how high the tension is. If I'm with my family, I floor it and let God and the prosecutor sort it out later.

Best not to put yourself in that position by visiting urban areas.

Lilly, a dog said...

The officer was not charged. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Here's an updated article with more information.

https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article263488773.html

Michael K said...

Well, a BLM activist is going to trial for driving over opposing protestors in 2020, so maybe it's not OK. Although they were not trying to block her car.

takirks said...

Is it too much trouble to go out and find the answers to the rest of the question, like what happened with the investigation?

https://www.knkx.org/2022-07-14/pierce-county-prosecutor-says-tacoma-officer-who-drove-through-crowd-was-attacked-by-violent-mob-will-not-be-charged

Read through that. Note that this was a violent mob, not some pedestrians who just "happened" to be around a police car. They tried to de-escalate; the crowd escalated.

I used to live not so far from that area. It's a "vibrant" area, ifyouknowwhatImeanandIthinkthatyoudo...

Living near those parts of Tacoma are pretty much what turned the corner for me, in terms of my attitude towards ferals. So far as I'm concerned, the only reason I wouldn't want cops running over people with their police cruisers in those sorts of situations is because I don't want the taxpayers to have to pay for the damage done to them. I'd be fine with the way the British used to do it: Round up a judge, read the Riot Act, and then set up tripod-mounted machineguns to do crowd control with.

None of you who've led the lily-white lives of the upper class have a f*cking clue what a real riot with these people looks like, or what damage gets done to people, their homes, and their businesses. That's why you don't care, and take the side of the agents of chaos.

Do keep on doing that. One day, those riots will make it to your doorstep, and then you can experience all the "vibrancy" you like. I don't doubt but that by that point, you'll be screaming for air strikes and gunships to be mowing down the crowds of well-wishers.

Public order is something your lot is utterly contemptuous of, right up until you don't have it outside your front door. Then, it's suddenly vitally important. I guarantee you that if those varied and sundry homeless encampments were in all the "right" neighborhoods, then they'd be gone overnight. But, because they're where all the normies live and try to make a living, y'all just don't care.

You will, though. You will.

Dave Begley said...

1. What's the cop supposed to do? Let these criminals surround his car and that start smashing the windows?

2. I see one of the spin-out cars has a Mexican flag attached to it. Nice to know that some Mexicans have brought their lawless act to North America.

3. What I want to see is the cops give these people notice that if they won't disburse then the cops will come after them hard with billy clubs and rubber bullets.

Otherwise, the criminals take over the streets.

There is a lawsuit in Lincoln where someone got hit in the face with a rubber bullet during the George Floyd riots. Assumption of risk, bitch!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

dead antifa thug?
No tears from me.

Narayanan said...

are not all videos graphic >>> pictural? by simple meaning?

n.n said...

so now we're back to caring about police brutality and malsfesance

Some, Select [Black] Lives Matter (SS BLM)

Baby Lives Matter (BLM)

Biff said...

As others have pointed out, the incident occurred in January 2021. Subsequently, the Pierce County Force Investigation Team reviewed the incident and forwarded its conclusions to the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office.

In July 2022, the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office announced that it would not pursue charges against the officers involved the case:

"'We will not file charges against any of the involved officers, nor would we file charges against anyone, police officer or not, who had been similarly unlawfully restrained and attacked by a violent mob,' Robnett's decision read."

n.n said...

Criminals doing criminal shit. And if you surround a police car,

50 Shades of Charlottesville.

typingtalker said...

Headlines from The New York Times for Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021

Inside the Deadly Capital Shooting
Pennsylvania Lawmaker Played Key Role in Trump's Plot to Oust Attorney General
Surge of Student Suicides Pushes Las Vegas Schools to Reopen

n.n said...

It's almost like being threatened by a crowd can cause people to act unpredictably.

If not for the Fentanyl-induced progressive condition prompting a premature exit from the policy vehicle, and an assembled mob delaying authorized medical personnel, George "Fentanyl" Floyd may still be alive today.

rhhardin said...

Don't threaten police officers.

Godot said...


Innocent people can be swept into danger by the madding crowd.
That said, the video looks like an origin story for Mad Max.

Bet most of them will never do it again.
Can't be sure about the cop.

Jim at said...

Weird that this incident supposedly happened two days ago, but the Buzzfeed article is dated 24 Jan, 2021 and also update on the same date.

Yeah. This happened quite awhile ago.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

First of all, those people are idiots. If the exhibition driver loses control of the car they could be hit by that car.

Second of all, those people are idiots. If the police officer driving the car feels threatened then they might use the car to escape, and they could be hit by the car.

Our civilization is doomed.

Still say its because of all the lead poisoning for the last 100 years.

The Vault Dweller said...

As another has noted this occurred in 2021. From what it looks like the officer was never charged. This article from 2022 cites an announcement from the prosecutor's office saying no charges would be pursued against the officer. https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article263488773.html

tommyesq said...

This is from January 2021, the crowd approached the SUV screaming "block that cop," "get him," "pull him out," "drag him out," "kill that cop!"

The prosecution declined to charge the officer. In her charging decision, Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett said the officer was "unlawfully restrained and attacked" by a "violent mob."

"We will not file charges against any of the involved officers, nor would we file charges against anyone, police officer or not, who had been similarly unlawfully restrained and attacked by a violent mob," Robnett's decision read.

Additional video and the story from a local news station here:

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/tacoma/tacoma-police-officer-drove-car-through-crowd-street-racing/281-4b87fe45-f4ba-46d4-9186-5aa675465c99

Rusty said...

Nobody told them not to play in traffic. Large pieces of steel and small pieces of lead always have the right of way.

Butkus51 said...

"a group of people surrounds it IN THE STREET"

good enough for me

Iman said...

Mess with the bull you get the horns.

Oh, and also… shit happens.

madAsHell said...

South Ninth Street and Pacific Avenue......in Tacoma??

Shit!! When I was a kid in THAT neighborhood, you rolled up the windows, and ran the red lights.

PerthJim said...

This incident appears to be from 2 years ago. However, there have been a lot of these "street takeovers" happening recently here in Houston and in other cities. There was a riot in Austin a couple of weeks ago when the police tried to break it up. As other commenters have stated, it shouldn't be surprising that bad things happen when mobs surround a car, police or not.

tim maguire said...

I suspect police cameras will answer some of the questions raised by this video. If not, the driver should be arrested.

n.n said...

It's almost like being threatened by a crowd can cause people to act unpredictably.

It happened during the SS BLM or Antifa insurrection in Florida, the officers' car was surrounded a la Charlottesville etc., but, fortunately, reinforcements arrived soon thereafter, and there were no Democrat "heroes" that day.

n.n said...

A Christmas parade in March? Was the driver of the SUV an element of the black bloc h/t diversity derived from Critical Racists' Theory (CRT)?

Scott Patton said...

As others have mentioned, this is an old story. Went digging, and the investigation by the Pierce county Force Investigation Team has concluded.
"The investigation has been
forwarded to the Pierce County Prosecutor's Office for review"
If there's a follow up story, I didn't find it.

Pillage Idiot said...

Unlawful interference with an official in the course of their lawful duties - 4 years in jail.

I am fine with anyone identified and arrested from the crowd of people blocking the police car serving that sentence.

After all, the Democrats have shouted from the hilltops, declaring that is now the definition of justice.

Eva Marie said...

John Marian, I watched the video you linked to then scrolled down to the comments. Overwhelmingly supportive of the Philippine police.
Then I clicked on this blogs link - the officer wasn’t charged. On BuzzFeed the comments were negative to the police. I then found the video on YouTube and there the comments again were overwhelmingly supportive of the cop.

Yancey Ward said...

I thought I had seen that before, and it appears I was right.

If I am in a car being assaulted by a mob, and I am convinced I can drive my way out, I will drive my way out and run over anyone getting in my way. The people in this video were lucky- they really are too dumb to live. If their injuries had killed them, it would simply be Darwinism at work.

Inga said...

“I also see that this story is two years old.”

I’m glad I wasn’t imagining that I had heard this exact story before.

Owen said...

Joe Smith @ 1:30 "...FA FO?"

That's my guess. This "mostly peaceful assembly" looks to be several hundred people enjoying the traditional Tacoma evening entertainment, of jackasses doing burnouts at an intersection. As we can see, it generates a lot of (probably) toxic smoke and lots and lots of unnecessary CO2, which under different circumstances would cause most of the spectators to collapse from nervous exhaustion. Beyond that I can't really say anything about the merits or demerits of the event, except to hazard the guess that burnouts are illegal, maybe criminal, and --if the driver loses control of the raging machine he's trying to bend sideways-- very damn dangerous.

Paul said...

Mob a police car... get ran over.. simple as that.

Here in Texas no one would be that stupid. But being woke is to be a dope.

Interested Bystander said...

Stupid people doing stupid shit. Play stupid games win stupid prizes. It’s called a sideshow by the way.

Godot said...

Very slow publication of comments.

Passive aggressive limited free speech lesson?

Or just circumstances & life?

Spiros Pappas said...

The officer has a right to self-defense. But this right also applies to a fetus whose mother is endangered by the pregnancy, thereby mandating an abortion. We should be consistent in our thinking!

Michael said...

Too bad. These impromptu intersection commandeering donut exhibitions are quite fun and seriously dangerous if you are in the wrong place. These were not rowdy rioters but over exuberant cohorts that are not always in control of their emotions. Doubtless a few were pissed that cops had arrived to curtail their illegal and dangerous and thought to block him with their bodies.

BTW I have witnessed a couple of these events and there are serious cars involved that have a lot of money and horsepower in them. The tire costs must be astronomical. But the drivers are generally competent. Have only read of a few where spectators gave their lives to the sport.

Mason G said...

Mason G said: "If so, that might possibly explain the driver's reaction to being surrounded, don't you think?"

Mason G says: "Reginald Denny to the white courtesy phone... Reginald Denny"

Michael said...

The donut drivers had absolutely no right to do what they were doing. There should have been a dozen police cars arriving suddenly, blocking all vehicle exits from that intersection, so that the drivers could have been arrested and charged with (at least) reckless driving. The cars should be impounded (temporarily; I'm no fan of civil forfeiture). Anyone in the crowd who tried to interfere should also have been arrested and kept overnight, if not necessarily charged. At some point we have to let people know we're serious.

robother said...

The theme of the day is...?

Tom T. said...

This happened in January 2021. In July 2022, the prosecutor declined to charge the officer, finding that he had been attacked by a violent mob. Not sure why Ann is picking it up now.

Dave64 said...

Give that cop a medal!

gilbar said...

Where does our Professor stand on this sort of protest (i could guess, but would like to know)?
Do people have a right to surround a police car, to prevent their friends from being arrested?

SteveWe said...

Lawless public behavior often leads to lawless reactions.

Achilles said...

The maoist shitheads and barbarians in the video are a threat to a peaceful high trust society. There are empty parking lots all over the place to do your stupid drag races and tired burning.

The pendulum has been pulled too far back.

The time comes for people to find out how thin the veneer of civilization truly is.

gspencer said...

When government power grows, the people's liberties recede,

https://www.gaconstitutionparty.org/overview_of_america_cd2019

Ignorance is Bliss said...

The drivers were doing donuts. Did they not realize that donuts would attract cops?

n.n said...

There has never been a moment in my life that I doubted that forcibly blocking a police car might end up with me suffering bodily harm.

Color bloc privilege?

Ideological privilege?

Others in the leverage vein.

Laurel said...

I’ll second what “takirks” said: I lived near that area until 2019. By that point, despite being a born-and-bred Washingtonian, I’d had it with that whole ugly state.

Moved to Texas, life amongst other normals. Thank God, thank God.

RMc said...

I’m glad I wasn’t imagining that I had heard this exact story before.

You already imagine plenty, Inga.

n.n said...

Self-moderation is the prerequisite of liberty... unless you enjoy a universe unto yourself.

alanc709 said...

As far as I'm concerned, antifa/BLM and the rest of the Soros minions should be treated as enemy combatants.

Big Mike said...

@Owen, by commandeering an intersection they risk hampering emergency vehicles trying to get to a fire or an ambulance trying to rush a patient to a hospital. Let’s put it this way. If you suffered a massive chest pain and EMTs were loading you onto an ambulance, you would not be thrilled to hear the driver tell the EMTs that they probably wouldn’t get you to the ER on time because he has to route around a key intersection because a bunch of ignorant nitwits are doing donuts on the street.

Note that (1) the intersection must be fairly large, to support all the burnouts and donuts and other maneuvers, implying important streets, and (2) while the chances that the nitwits would hamper fire trucks or ambulances on any given night will be low, the odds will never be zero and therefore summed across many nights the likelihood will rise surprisingly quickly.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

2021. What Tom T. said. Old news. No charges.

effinayright said...

Tom T. said...
This happened in January 2021. In July 2022, the prosecutor declined to charge the officer, finding that he had been attacked by a violent mob. Not sure why Ann is picking it up now.
***********************
Easy. Miss Ann was once again identifying with the perps and re-labeling them as victims----just as she did with the Stanford Law Fascisti.

Tina Trent said...

You're just trying to lure people back in to comment. You earn 15K plus a month if we do the unpaid work to keep your blog interesting and edgy. You have worked to not disclose this.

We can go elsewhere to read and comment.

Expect less of us in the future.

Michael K said...

Blogger Spiros Pappas said...

The officer has a right to self-defense. But this right also applies to a fetus whose mother is endangered by the pregnancy, thereby mandating an abortion. We should be consistent in our thinking!


I assume you will explain this. I cannot recall an example after 50 years of medical practice. Mitral stenosis used to present with congestive heart failure in the third trimester but that was 50 years ago and C Sections can be done under local.

Jess said...

The crowd should count their blessings. A less polite society would have cleared the street with an M-2.

Lou said...

What race was the cop?
What race was the victim?

The answers to these questions will determine if there is violence stemming from this event.

PresbyPoet said...

Simple solution. Announce that a participating car will be followed by drone. Police will follow. The car will be arrested, and sent for a public crushing. The cube of metal will be left for a week to remind everyone of this beloved car's fate.

After a couple of such executions, the supply of donuts will sharply drop. No need to endanger any cops. All you need is a drone or helicopter to follow a participant. Since the car is guilty, no need to find who drove it. Just a variation on the "drug" money seizures.

Bunkypotatohead said...

Blogger gilbar said...
Where does our Professor stand on this sort of protest

"Set the right example, and maybe they will meet you where you can coexist in something approaching conversation"

stlcdr said...

Blogger effinayright said...

***********************
Easy. Miss Ann was once again identifying with the perps and re-labeling them as victims----just as she did with the Stanford Law Fascisti.

3/20/23, 9:13 PM


You know that how? This video is making ‘the rounds’ again on several social media / blog sites.

rwnutjob said...

run over protestors in the road
Shoot looters
If you throw a Molotov cocktail at the police, your life ends before it hits the ground.

There

FIFY

Robert Cook said...

"As far as I'm concerned, antifa/BLM and the rest of the Soros minions should be treated as enemy combatants."

So, you hate America, and you despise our Constitutionally protected right and our long history of mounting public protests against conditions deemed intolerable. Move to Old Blighty, you Tory traitor!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Portland sure looks like a 3rd world hell hole.

Big Mike said...

Expect less of us in the future.

@Tina Trent, I would say that Althouse has very low expectations of us to begin with. [Chuckle]

JAORE said...

Reginal Denny played nice.

wendybar said...

alanc709 said...
As far as I'm concerned, antifa/BLM and the rest of the Soros minions should be treated as enemy combatants.

3/20/23, 8:46 PM

And Domestic Terrorists.

Curious George said...

Greg the Class Traitor said...

"Graphic videos show a police SUV ramming a crowd and running over at least one person in Tacoma, Washington, on Saturday."

That is a fundamentally dishonest headline

"In videos from the scene, the police SUV revs its engine while a group of people surrounds it in the street

If you surround someone in a car, they in almost any situation they have an absolute moral right to run you over in order to get away, and should do so.

Is the driver:
kidnapping someone?
stealing the car?
trying to use it to escape the scene of their crime (real crime. "Offending the left" is not a crime)

No?

Then get out of the way, or get run over.

Are you having a protest, and trying to block traffic?

Then the world will be a better place if you are run over and killed

Tina Trent said...

Too bad. Don't attack and surround vehicles. Kill the fuckers.