As police began clearing the intersection, some individuals began surrounding an officer’s vehicle and hitting the vehicle’s body and windows, according to a statement from the Tacoma Police Department. The officer, “fearing for his safety, tried to back up, but was unable to do so because of the crowd,” the statement said.
The officer then accelerated the car forward and it struck the crowd. According to police, the vehicle struck one and “may have impacted others.”
Videos circulating on social media appear to show a police car, with lights and sirens on, plowing into numerous people in the crowd. Several people appear to hit the ground as the vehicle moves forward. It is not immediately clear how many people were impacted or where the vehicle hit them.
“The officer stopped at a point of safety and called for medical aid,” the statement said.
According to the police statement, one person was transported to a hospital. At a news conference Saturday night, Puyallup Police Capt. Dan Pashon told reporters that two people had been taken to the hospital, but one was released soon after.
Puyallup is about 10 miles southeast of Tacoma.
The Tacoma Police Department said the incident is being turned over to the Pierce County Force Investigation Team to conduct an independent investigation. Pashon, who is part of the team, said it will gather details about the incident. He said his team has been interviewing witnesses and will be asking the public to contact the department to share any videos of the incident.
Pashon, who identified the officer involved as a “senior” officer, said the team will not make any determinations about whether the officer is disciplined.
“We provide the facts. Those facts go to the prosecutor. They go to the city of Tacoma. The Tacoma Police Department will make those decisions,” Pashon said.
Interim Tacoma police chief Mike Ake said in a statement he was concerned the department “is experiencing another use of deadly force incident.”
“I send my thoughts to anyone who was injured in tonight’s event, and am committed to our Department’s full cooperation in the independent investigation and to assess the actions of the department’s response during the incident.”