CENTRALIA, Wash. — A suspect attempting to elude police took to the Chehalis River in a stolen kayak June 12.
According to the Centralia Police Department (CPD), officers received reports of a stolen vehicle on Wednesday just after 8 a.m.
When they found the vehicle, the suspect did not comply with commands to pull over. Rather, he pulled into a dead-end street and fled on foot into a wooded area. Then he stole a kayak from a nearby residence and tried to escape via the river.
CPD Sergeant David Clary said that once the suspect was in the water, he "struggled mightily" and fell over multiple times but continued to paddle toward the middle of the river.
"He clearly had no intention of giving up," Clary said.
The chase was captured on Washington State Patrol's aircraft camera and shows moments officers tried to get him to surrender by shooting several Pepperball rounds at him, which is a less lethal form of ammunition.
The suspect eventually got out of the water near Galvin Road and was apprehended shortly after with the help of police K9.
"Once the jaws of the K9 clamped down on him, he gave up," Clary said.
According to the CPD, the kayak was valued at over $1,000 and the suspect had multiple warrants out for his arrest. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of a stolen vehicle and second-degree theft.
Clary credited the success of the arrest to modern police technology and teamwork between agencies.
He said the FLOCK camera system was used to identify the car had been stolen without having to give chase. The drone came in handy when tracking the suspect after he fled into the dense wooded area.
Clary said officers recovered a stolen vehicle involved in multiple ATM burglaries on Wednesday night.