A Washington police officer barks like a dog to scare car thieves
When officers in Washington state last month pursued a group of teenagers suspected of stealing a car, one officer used an unusual tactic that got the suspects to surrender: he barked like a police dog.
Officers responded to a call from a stolen vehicle near a cemetery on Chambers Creek Way in University Place just before 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 18, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said.
A deputy deployed stop sticks and waited for the stolen vehicle, which authorities said suffered four flat tires after driving over the trap.
However, the suspects drove on and officers were forced to call off the pursuit.
The stolen car was found unoccupied, still driving down Bridgeport Way. Officers surrounded the area and began searching for the teenagers.
According to bodycam footage of the incident, a police officer spotted the group in a wooded area on a creek bed.
“Stop, police! Don’t make us release our K-9s!” The deputy can be heard screaming.
According to the video, a member of parliament can be heard barking like a dog.
After the police officer repeatedly imitated a dog barking, the four youths came out of the creek bed and surrendered.
“The kids actually believed there was a dog, and they ended up telling the officers, ‘Man, when I heard the dog I gave up,'” Sgt. Darren Moss Jr. said in a video shared on Facebook was posted to the department.
Moss praised the MPs, giving them an “A+” for the creativity with which they got the youngsters to comply.
The video ends with officers arresting the youths. No details were initially given about the suspects’ identities or possible charges.
