SPOKANE, Wash. — Seven Spokane Police Officers were transported to the hospital following a police pursuit that led to a crash Friday afternoon.
In a press conference, Interim Police Chief Justin Lundgren provided a timeline of the pursuit.
According to Lundgren, at around 12:56 p.m., officers, near Northwest Spokane, were finishing an unrelated search warrant when they spotted a car believed to have been involved in a recent drive-by shooting.
The officers began a pursuit, calling in additional officers in an armored truck.
Just before 1 p.m. at the intersection of North Oak Street and West Carlisle Ave, Lundgren says the suspect car rammed the armored truck at high speeds – sending it spinning 180 degrees. This also caused the patrol car to crash.
Video of the crash shared from a ring camera can be found here. The video was sent to KREM 2 from the Spokane Police Department.
The three suspects in the car and seven officers were transported to the hospital. A canine was also hurt in the crash.
"The speed of the collision and the force of the impact was very significant, and so we transported all the officers to an area hospital. I was fortunate to be able to speak to each one of them. They're in good spirits, and they will recover from their injuries," Lundgren said.
Lundgren did not specify which shooting the vehicle was connected to.
"The challenges our officers have with the behavior of some of these suspects, especially our violent suspects, being so brazen, it's a real issue for our community. I am so thankful everyone is ok," Lundgren said.
The intersection was closed for a few hours.
On Monday, July 22, SPD said the seven officers and K9 involved are resting and recovering.