A Tacoma (Washington) police officer reportedly drove his car into a crowd Saturday night and sent at least one person to the hospital, authorities said. The incident was captured in a video that was widely shared on social media.
Protesters then gathered at the intersection where it happened, CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO-TV reported.
“I was shocked, I was moved, I was confused, I was scared. This officer led this group of people and fled the place,” a woman from the place told KIRO-TV. “I want justice for people who have just been hurt.”
According to police, officers responded to street runners around 6:20 p.m. when they arrived there was a crowd of about 100 people. Officers were cleaning the intersection of people and a police vehicle was allegedly surrounded by the crowd.
“People hit the body of the police vehicle and its windows while the officer was stopped on the street,” Tacoma police said. “The officer, for fear of his safety, tried to make a backup, but was unable to do so due to the crowd.”
The video posted on Twitter showed a person under a police SUV as he drove away. Other videos posted on Twitter showed a car making donuts before police arrived. After the appearances of the authorities, a police vehicle appeared that entered the crowd and knocked down several people before leaving.
At least one person was taken to a nearby hospital. The status of this person is unknown.
“People were joking with the cops, calling the cops, calling the cops, and then the car backed up and drove at full speed into the crowd,” Cory Le, who filmed one of the videos, told Reuters .
According to KIRO-TV, the Tacoma Police Department has handed over the investigation to the Pierce County Force Investigation Team.
Acting police chief Mike Ake said in a statement that he was “concerned that our department would experience another use of deadly force.”