CARLSBORG — A Port Angeles police dog and his handler won the battle with a motorcycle theft suspect in the Olympics foothills.
Port Angeles Police Officer Lucas Degand received minor injuries Sunday night in defense of his police dog, Bogey, from a Spokane man who allegedly was kicking the dog in the head in woods 3 miles south of Carlsborg, authorities said Monday.
When the struggle was over, Degand suffered a minor cut to the hand, Bogey appeared unhurt and the suspect, who had dog bites, was in custody, said Brian Smith, Port Angeles deputy police chief.
Joshua Thomas Tinker, 31, of Spokane was treated for the bites at Olympic Medical Center before being booked into the Clallam County jail, Smith said.
Tinker made a preliminary appearance in Clallam County Superior Court on Monday afternoon and was being held in jail in lieu of $10,000 bail on charges of felony eluding, taking a motor vehicle without permission, driving without a license and driving under the influence of an intoxicant.
Other charges involving resisting the dog are pending.
The incident began shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday when a State Patrol trooper recognized a motorcycle stolen in Port Angeles and began chasing the man riding the bike near U.S. Highway 101 and Kitchen-Dick Road, Smith said.
The make and model of the motorcycle were unavailable Monday afternoon.
Troopers pursued the motorcyclist to Hooker Road, then to the intersection of Olson and Waldo roads about 3 miles south of Highway 101.
That’s where the motorcyclist, later identified as Tinker, abandoned the bike and fled into the woods, Smith said.
Degand and Bogey were called in from Port Angeles to support State Patrol troopers in their search for the motorcyclist.
The policeman and his dog found Tinker hiding under a large bush south of the intersection of Taylor Cutoff and River Run roads.
Degand sent Bogey in to hold the suspect so that he could be arrested.
Bogey had a hold of Tinker’s lower left leg according to his training, but Degand thought something was wrong under that dark bush.
“I went in closer and I could see [that Tinker] was kicking my dog in the head,” the officer said.
Degand said he crawled under the bush to defend Bogey and was kicked in the hand.
Tinker then was taken into custody.
The motorcycle was recovered by State Patrol and returned to its registered owner, who is a North Olympic Peninsula resident.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
