SEQUIM — Sequim Police Department officers continued to seek a vandal who slashed 10 tires on seven police vehicles last week.
The vehicles — patrol cars plus one sport-utility vehicle — were found with destroyed tires early Saturday morning.
They were parked in the employee lot east of the Sequim Police Department at 609 W. Washington St., said Sgt. Dave Campbell, who noted that only Sequim police vehicles were targeted, while nearby Clallam County Sheriff’s Department cars were untouched.
“Somebody is obviously not too happy with us,” Campbell said. “The puncture wounds were deep.”
The slasher — who police think entered the parking lot between 7 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. before sunup on Saturday — did more than $1,500 worth of damage, he said.
Slashing the tires on a patrol vehicle, thereby taking it out of service, is a class B felony punishable by up to 10 years in jail and a $10,000 fine, Campbell said.
Word of the damage spread soon after officers discovered it, and Campbell said information about possible suspects soon flowed in.
“People talk; it’s a small town. I’ve lived here long enough to know that somebody will say something at some point. It’s inevitable,” added Campbell, who’s been with the Sequim department for 13 years.
Now “we’re in the intelligence-gathering phase,” he said.
“We’ve narrowed it down to two or three leads. We’re going to start talking to people.
“Something will come out, I’m confident, in the next few days.”
Tire-slashing is rare, he added.
“Typically, there’s something personal about it,” Campbell said.
He remembered, however, one other tire-slashing at the Sequim Police Department several years ago, but recalled no details.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsula dailynews.com
