A police officer in Tacoma, Washington, apparently ran his car into a crowd on Saturday night and sent at least one person to hospital, authorities said. The incident was captured on video that was widely shared on social media.
Afterward, protesters gathered at the intersection where it happened, KIRO-TV, an affiliate of CBS Seattle, reported.
“I was shocked, I was shocked, I was confused, I was scared. This officer just directed this group of people and then fled the scene,” a woman on the scene told KIRO-TV. “I want justice for the people who have just been injured.”
Police said officers responded to street racers around 6:20 PM. There was a crowd of about 100 people on the scene when they arrived. Officers cleared the intersection of people and a police car was reportedly surrounded by the crowd.
“People hit the body of the police vehicle and windows when the officer was stopped on the street,” Tacoma police said. “The officer, fearing for his safety, tried to reverse but was unable to do so because of the crowd.”
Video posted on Twitter showed a person under a police SUV as he drove away. Other videos posted to Twitter showed a car doing donuts before the police arrived. After authorities appeared, a police car appeared to drive into the crowd and knock over several people before driving off.
At least one person has been transported to a nearby hospital. That person’s condition is unknown.
“People were messing with the police, yelling at the police, yelling at the police, and then the car backed up and pulled into the crowd at full speed,” Cory Le, who filmed one of the videos, told Reuters.
Tacoma police have turned the investigation over to the Pierce County Force Investigation Team, KIRO-TV said.
Interim Police Chief Mike Ake said in a statement that he was “concerned that our department is experiencing another use of deadly force.”