Homicidal suspect pours gasoline on himself, crashes into patrol car head-on in Thurston County

THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. — On Tuesday, Thurston County deputies answered a call about a domestic violence assault near Yelm Highway Southeast.

When deputies arrived, they learned that the suspect made suicidal comments, poured gasoline on himself and stole a family car.

According to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, deputies had dealt with this person in the past, when the suspect tried to run over deputies with a bulldozer and heavily damaged a patrol car.

The man served two years in prison and was recently released.

Using their previous knowledge of the suspect, deputies were able to find him and the stolen car at a location he frequented.

The suspect was not compliant, so a crisis negotiator was called to help.

When those efforts failed, deputies tried to get the suspect to give up by using less lethal options but the suspect drove off.

As deputies began to follow, the suspect turned the car around and struck the K-9 police car head-on.

The crash was so violent that it tore the front tire off the patrol car and sent it over 50 feet away.

The suspect was caught and put in a WRAP restraint and taken to Thurston County Jail.

The deputy experienced soreness but he and his K-9 were okay.

“Great work by our deputies to take a homicidal suspect into custody not once, but twice now, without using deadly force, Sheriff Sanders wrote in a Facebook post.

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