Dashcam shows the ending of a pursuit with a DUI suspect
By: -----
Newly released dash cam footage reveals a high-speed pursuit involving Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) deputies and a driver suspected of intoxicated, suspended driving in Ellensburg in June. The video, made public to demonstrate Washington State’s updated vehicle pursuit laws, captures the coordination between KCSO and Ellensburg Police Department (EPD) officers in stopping the suspect after a nine-mile chase.
The incident began when EPD officers encountered the driver in Ellensburg and discovered his license had been suspended. Suspecting he was under the influence, officers attempted a routine stop, but the driver fled up Umptanum Road, with both EPD officers and KCSO deputies in pursuit.
In the video, Deputy Grant Thompson is seen executing a textbook PIT (Pursuit Intervention Technique) maneuver, temporarily stopping the suspect. When the driver attempted to escape again, additional KCSO units quickly surrounded the vehicle, blocking it in. The footage captures the final moments when deputies, after a brief standoff, broke a window to arrest the suspect safely.
Since the arrest, the driver has pled guilty to charges of suspended driving and eluding a police vehicle.