A Tacoma, Washington, police officer apparently drove his car into a crowd on Saturday night, sending at least one person to the hospital, authorities said. The incident was captured in video that was widely shared on social media.
Afterward, protesters gathered at the intersection where it happened, CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO-TV reported.
“I was shocked, I was shaken, I was confused, I was scared. This officer just ran this group of people over and then fled the scene,” a woman at the scene told KIRO-TV. “I want justice for the people who just got injured.”
According to police, officers were responding to street racers around 6:20 p.m. There was a crowd of approximately 100 people at the scene when they arrived. Officers were clearing the intersection of people, and a police vehicle was allegedly surrounded by the crowd.
“People hit the body of the police vehicle and its windows as the officer was stopped in the street,” Tacoma police said. “The officer, fearing for his safety, tried to back up, but was unable to do so because of the crowd.”
Video posted to Twitter showed a person under a police SUV as it drove away. Other videos posted to Twitter showed a car doing doughnuts before police arrived. After authorities showed up, a police vehicle appeared to drive into the crowd and knock several people over before driving away.
At least one person was transported to a nearby hospital. That person’s condition is unknown.
“People were messing with the cops, yelling at the cops, shouting at the cops, and then the car reversed and drove full speed into the crowd,” Cory Le, who filmed one of the videos, told Reuters.
The Tacoma Police Department has turned the investigation over to the Pierce County Force Investigation Team, according to KIRO-TV.
Interim Police Chief Mike Ake said in a statement that he was “concerned that our department is experiencing another use of deadly force incident.”
