Kent officers capture man who fled after pulling knife during dispute

Kent Police arrested a man for investigation of assault after he reportedly pulled a knife on another man during a dispute.

Officers responded to a 911 call from a witness who reported a black man with a knife chasing a white man at about 4:42 p.m. March 23, outside of Safeway, 13101 SE Kent Kangley Road, according to the police report.

Officers arrived and saw a man who matched the description of a gray beard, black leather jacket, grey pants, about age 30 and who stood between 5 feet 5 inches and 5 feet 9 inches. An officer saw the man at a bus stop at 132nd Avenue Southeast and Kent Kangley Road.

The officer exited his SUV with his rifle because of the report that the man had a knife. The officer ordered the man to stop, but he replied, “You got the wrong guy,” and fled on foot into the Safeway parking lot.

Two officers used vehicles to pursue the man and other officers also joined the chase. The man jumped a cement wall near the Pizza Hut and ran into a greenway. An officer drew his Taser and ordered the man to stop running, and the man halted. Officers took a folding knife from the man’s pants pocket and handcuffed him.

The man told police the white guy had jumped him, so he pulled a knife to defend himself. A witness to the dispute said the two men appeared to know each other and that the white man appeared to be high on drugs. Police found a plastic baggie with meth inside near the suspect who reportedly had removed the item from his pockets.

Whose car is it?

Officers arrested a man for investigation of possession of stolen property after police spotted him driver an older white Honda Civic without license plates, a trip permit or a dealer permit.

An officer saw the vehicle at about 8:28 a.m. March 22 in the 27200 block of Pacific Highway South, according to the police report. The officer initiated a traffic stop by activating the SUV emergency lights, but the driver kept going and went through several nearby parking lots before he stopped after the officer used the vehicle’s PA system to tell the man to stop.

The officer walked up to the car and saw it had a steering column torn apart and a punched ignition. The man told police he didn’t stop initially because he didn’t see the officer. He said a friend had just bought the car. The driver told police he also had a handgun on his hip. Officer took the gun and discovered the man had a valid permit for it out of Des Moines.

Police found a vehicle registration in the car under a different name than the man. Officers discovered that person had been the victim of a vehicle prowl in Des Moines on March 11 with the vehicle registration and insurance card stolen.

The vehicle identification number showed the car belonged to a Pierce County man, but officers were unable to track down that man who had moved.

Drugs in the park

Police cited a man and a woman for investigation of possession of drug paraphernalia after the two were spotted by bicycle patrol officers sitting behind a bush at about 4:33 p.m. March 22 near Kiabara Park, 100 W. Smith St.

An officer saw three people sitting behind the bush and facing the train tracks, according to the police report. When one of the men saw police, he tossed something on the ground in front of him. An officer saw a glass pipe, often used for smoking meth, in front of the man, who admitted the pipe belonged to him.

A plastic baggie – that later tested positive for containing meth – sat between the woman and another man. The woman admitted to police the baggie belonged to her. All three were released by police and told to leave the park.