PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles police are crediting emergency vehicle operations training for bringing a recent pursuit to a successful end.
Three Port Angeles residents were arrested Thursday evening after a five-block pursuit.
Arrested were Justin DeFrang, 35; Joshua L. Alumbaugh, 23; and Patricia Rose Stigall, 24.
DeFrang and Stigall were booked into the Clallam County jail, while Alumbaugh was cited and released.
The incident began at about 4:15 p.m., police said, when officers were dispatched to an in-progress theft reported at a store in the 600 block of East First Street.
While responding to the call, officers were told a customer had purchased some items, concealed others and left the store. He was reported to be in a black Chevrolet sport utility vehicle.
Officer Andrew Heuett arrived and was directed by a store employee to the vehicle, later identified by police as being driven by DeFrang, which headed eastbound on East First Street as Heuett tried to initiated a traffic stop.
Keeps on driving
Heuett said DeFrang continued driving, turning southbound onto Eunice Street.
The vehicle made several turns and drove through one stop sign while maintaining speeds between 25 and 45 mph, police said.
As the SUV was approaching Eighth Street — the vehicle had traveled over five blocks and was heading in the direction of a busy street, police said — Heuett decided to use a pursuit intervention technique, referred to as a PIT maneuver, to end the chase.
As the Chevrolet neared the intersection of East Seventh and Vine streets, Heuett tapped the left rear corner of the SUV with his police car, causing the Chevrolet to slide to the right, rotate in a counter-clockwise manner over a curb and come to a stop facing northwest.
Six people were removed from the vehicle and detained.
There were no injuries, police said.
There was minor damage to the SUV and to Heuett’s vehicle.
Charges
DeFrang faces a potential felony charge of eluding a police vehicle. He also is wanted on a $50,000 material witness arrest warrant from King County. He remained jailed Saturday without bond.
Stigall was arrested on a Clallam County District Court warrant for providing a false name to officers.
She remains in jail with bond set at $700.
Based on their ongoing investigation into the theft, police will refer a fourth subject who has not been publicly identified to the Clallam County prosecutor for misdemeanor theft charges.
Vehicle training
The Port Angeles Police Department participates in an emergency vehicle operations training program, led by the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, with a consortium of agencies from Clallam, Kitsap, Jefferson, Mason and Grays Harbor counties.
Detective David Arand and Cpl. Kevin Miller are certified emergency vehicle operator course instructors and are part of the interagency training cadre.
A portion of this training program involves initial training and regular in-service training in the PIT maneuver.
The Port Angeles department has used the PIT maneuver to terminate pursuits on four occasions since fall 2014.
In October of that year at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Orlando, Fla., the department received the “Safer Way” award from the PursuitSAFETY organization in recognition for agency training and best practices in the area of police pursuits.
________
Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
