While footage such as this might make some people feel uneasy, the reality is that not all police chases end in arrests, especially if the perpetrator has already fired shots at the officers.
In short, this video released by the SPD shows multiple police cars chasing down a “35-year-old violent felon” who not only had waved around his handguns in public, but also stole three vehicles and fired on officers, which is usually a fatal mistake.
The footage picks up with a black Camaro speeding by a police cruiser which immediately turns around and starts its pursuit of the suspect. The Camaro already looks like it took quite a hit, easy to see as soon as the cop car closes in.
After a few more lights, the cops smash their cruiser into the perp’s car, hoping to render him immobile, though that may have been a little bit risky considering how populated that intersection was.
Sure enough, the chase ensues and it’s the cop car that seems to have been damaged the worst, being unable to continue pursuit. No worries though as the action picks up from another police car and shows the Camaro speeding through a residential neighborhood – that’s when we hear “Shorts fired” coming through the police radio.
At that moment you pretty much know all bets are off, and sure enough, as the Camaro is eventually rammed and brought to a halt, the felon doesn’t even get a “Drop your weapons and come out with your hands up” warning.
Unfortunately there was a civilian directly involved in the ramming, but she quickly got out of her Toyota RAV4 and made a run for it. The Seattle PD covered up her face because Washington State has very strict privacy laws that require two-party consent when recording, especially if the recording itself is to be made public in any way.
After the civilian is clear, an alternate angle shows the officers getting in position and certainly to our surprise, shows the Camaro almost successfully making a rear-wheel driven 180-degree turn Fast & Furious style. The felon might have gotten away with that move (there was sufficient space in the other direction to make another run for it) if it wasn’t for the barrage of bullets fired in his direction.
Warning: the footage can be disturbing to watch