The officer, along with other police units, responded to reports of an incident at the intersection of South 9th and Pacific Avenues in Tacoma around 6:20 p.m. Saturday, the release said. Once on the scene, officers found a number of vehicles and about 100 people blocking the intersection, which they began clearing “for the safety of those gathered and those attempting to use the street,” the release said.
The crowd then surrounded one of the police vehicles and began hitting the vehicle and windows while the lights and sirens were activated, police said. The officer in the SUV tried to reverse, according to the statement, but was unable to do so due to the crowd.
‘Fearing for his safety,’ the statement said, ‘the officer drove forward and touched one person and may have had an impact on others’ while trying to get out of the ‘unsafe position’. Once the officer was “at a point of safety,” police said he had sought medical attention.
The officer has not been identified in the police statement.
The Pierce County Force Investigation Team is investigating the incident, the statement said.
Crowd pounded on the officer’s car
Police say one person, whose condition is unknown, was taken to a local hospital after the incident. Haddow told The New Tribune that a person was ruptured in the collision and was transported to a local hospital, the newspaper reported.
At least one graphic video of the incident circulating on social media shows the police vehicle, with lights and sirens on, slowly moving closer to the crowd in front of the vehicle. In the background you can hear an engine running and the vehicle backs up, then accelerates forward into the crowd, knocking several people to the ground.
The vehicle slows down a bit and appears to bounce as it passes over something before passing through the intersection. You can see the rear tires of the vehicle rolling over someone on the street.
A second video shows a white car doing donuts in the middle of the intersection and driving off just as the police arrive at the scene, just before the police car is seen by the crowd.
In another video, the sound of a spinning engine is followed by a series of pounding and a person shouting twice, “Damn, they’re hitting a police car.” Moments later you will hear another engine running and people scatter and start screaming, “Oh my God! Oh my God!” repeatedly. A few seconds later, a smaller crowd forms around what looks like someone lying on the ground.
“I am concerned that our department is experiencing another use of deadly force,” said Mike Ake, Tacoma interim police chief, in the press release.
“I am sending my thoughts to everyone injured in tonight’s event and am committed to our department’s full cooperation in the independent investigation and to assess the actions of the department’s response during the incident,” he said .
Tacoma City Manager Elizabeth Pauli told The News Tribune that the officer will be placed on leave.
CNN’s Jennifer Feldman contributed to this report.