Community Police & Fire

Gig Harbor Police Blotter: DUI driver says impounded vehicle is his ex-wife’s problem

Editor’s note: The Blotter is written based on information provided by Gig Harbor Police, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office and Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One.

A Gig Harbor police officer watched a Jeep drive through red lights or stop signs at the intersections of Grandview and Pioneer, Stinson and Wollochet, and Stinson and Grandview early on the morning of April 1, leading the officer to believe the driver might be intoxicated.

The officer also watched the driver swerve repeatedly in his lane, nearly sideswipe a guardrail and struggle with his manual transmission. At one point, while the vehicle was moving forward, its reverse lights came on. The officer believed the driver had accidentally shifted into reverse while moving forward.

An odor of burning rubber also made the officer think the man had been driving with his parking brake on.

The officer pulled over the 38-year-old Gig Harbor man and asked where he was coming from. He replied “here.” The driver told the officer he didn’t have insurance or a vehicle registration, but he refused to answer any more questions or participate in any DUI tests. He wouldn’t even acknowledge that the officer had read him his constitutional rights.

Officers cited and released the driver. Police impounded the Jeep he was driving, but the suspect told the officer that “would now be his ex-wife’s problem.”

Motorcycle drives on shoulder to avoid bridge toll

A Harley-Davidson motorcycle, seen by a Pierce County Sheriff’s deputy driving on the shoulder to avoid paying a Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll, briefly got away from law enforcement on the evening of April 1.

The deputy saw the motorcycle at about 8 p.m., heading over the bridge toward Tacoma, using the shoulder to dodge a toll. After pacing the Harley at 93 mph, the deputy attempted to pull it over. But the motorcycle sped away, again passing other vehicles on the shoulder.

The deputy did not chase the motorcycle, but encountered it again later on Intestate 5. The cycle again raced off.

Washington State Patrol troopers later arrested the motorcyclist in Thurston County, where he again fled from law enforcement before they caught up to him. The 38-year-old suspect was arrested and booked into jail for eluding and driving with a suspended license. The Pierce County deputy mailed the suspect a ticket for avoiding the toll.