Police officers search the grassy area at Euclid and Third streets after a Centralia police officer fired upon a stolen truck when it rammed his patrol car this afternoon.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CENTRALIA – A police officer fired shots at a vehicle that rammed the officer’s patrol car during a pursuit of a stolen pickup truck in Centralia late this afternoon, according to Centralia police.
The chase began on Kresky Avenue and continued through downtown and into a residential neighborhood at the north end of Centralia.
A suspect was caught on the other side of the Skookumchuck River after bailing out of the truck and fleeing on foot, according to Centralia Officer John Panco.
“It doesn’t appear the suspect was hit,” Panco said just before 7 p.m. this evening.
Chris Wilson, a 21-year-old whose grassy side yard was cordoned off by police tape, said he came out of his house and saw a patrol car on the grass and an officer standing outside it.
“That’s when I heard shots being fired and then there’s a whole bunch of dust and smoke,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the big white truck and patrol car took off north across the railroad tracks.
It was just a block away where the suspect jumped out of the truck and started running, according to Panco.
It began with a report of a stolen vehicle from the 1100 block of South Gold Street at 4:22 p.m., according to Panco. The officer spotted the truck on Kresky and gave chase, he said.
The officer, whose identity was not released, had a minor injury and couldn’t pursue the man on foot, Panco said.
Centralia police were joined by officers from Chehalis, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol in a search for the suspect. The SWAT team which happened to be training joined in, along with police dog Kayo and his handler Sgt. Brian Warren.
The suspect was found in Riverside Rotary Park and arrested for first-degree assault and possession of stolen property. Joshua A. Fitchhorn, 32, of SeaTac, was booked into the Lewis County Jail.
The officer was checked out at Providence Centralia Hospital and has been released, according to Panco.
Small yellow flags marked potential evidence in the grass next to Wilson’s home at Euclid and Third streets. Police officers scoured the area there, along the railroad tracks and even on a nearby roof.
The SWAT truck and another large police vehicle blocked off the area from traffic. Police expected personnel from the state patrol to be out there for hours taking measurements.
Panco said in a news release just before 9 p.m. the suspect rammed the patrol car twice and the officer fired at least two shots in self defense.
Neighbor Rich Butterton said he saw the cloud of dust as well. He was inside when he heard sirens and vehicles that sounded like they were driving way too fast for his street, he said.
“I heard smash, pop, pop, pop, pop,” Butterton said. Then he went out his front door and saw the cloud of dust.
“This is not supposed to happen here at home,” Butterton said. “This is like Seattle-Tacoma stuff; not Centralia stuff.”
Members of the Centralia Police Department return to the SWAT vehicle after a search for a subject who reportedly rammed a patrol car
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter