Deputy Responds to ALPR Alert and Locates Reported Stolen Vehicle

PR 2023

Deputy Responds to ALPR Alert and Locates Reported Stolen Vehicle 
 Suspect Rams Deputy’s Car and Flees on Foot Yelling She Has a Gun 

A female suspect, who fled from a reported stolen vehicle after ramming a Deputy’s patrol car several times as she tried to escape, was coaxed into exiting a motel room after a standoff that lasted over an hour.  Several law enforcement agencies worked together to resolve this tense incident peacefully.  The adult female suspect, a convicted felon with valid arrest warrants, was booked into jail on a myriad of charges.

On November 18, 2024, at approximately 5:45 pm, a Spokane Regional Emergency Communications (SREC) Dispatcher broadcast a Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC) Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) Flock Alert regarding a reported stolen vehicle on S. Craig Road traveling toward Hwy. 2.  

A Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy located the stolen Hyundai Sonata and confirmed the license plate.  The Deputy got behind the vehicle and planned to wait for additional patrol units to assist before attempting a traffic stop.   However, the female driver, later identified as 30-year-old Sadie M. Brown, pulled into the parking lot of the Heights Motel on W. Hwy. 2.   

The Deputy activated his emergency equipment to conduct a high-risk traffic stop while advising responding Deputies/Officers of his location.  As backup arrived, the Deputy told Brown to turn the vehicle off and place her hands out the window.  Unfortunately, Brown chose to put the car in reverse and slam into the Deputy’s patrol car.   She then went forward and backward several times, reviving the engine and spinning the tires while hitting a metal pipe fence, a pile of boulders, and the Deputy’s vehicle.  

The Deputy continued to reposition his vehicle each time, limiting the distance Brown had to gain momentum, effectively pinning her in and preventing her escape.   With additional Deputies, including a K9 Unit, Airway Heights Police Officers, Kalispel Tribal Police Officers, and Spokane Police Officers responding to assist, Brown was given multiple commands to stop and surrender.

Suddenly, realizing she could not escape in the car, Brown exited the Hyundai, stated she had a gun several times and began to flee on foot.  Not knowing if she was armed with a firearm, Deputies and Officers used caution as they established a perimeter to cut off avenues of escape.  

Brown, a convicted felon and prohibited from legally possessing a firearm, eventually ran into a motel room (known to her) and slammed the door.  Multiple commands to surrender and use-of-force warnings were given, but she remained defiant.  With Brown stating she was armed and inside a room where there could be additional weapons, Deputies began the process of acquiring a search warrant as SWAT, Crisis Negotiators, Behavioral Heath Units (BHU), and other assets responded.  

Just before 7:30 pm, Brown appeared at the motel room door.  She seemed disoriented, unsteady on her feet, and was bleeding from her arm.  SWAT Team members took Brown into custody and provided medical treatment for what appeared to be self-inflicted cuts to her forearm.  She gave several false names and later claimed she took a handful of pills when she entered the room.  

Through the continued investigation, Deputies located and seized a clear plastic baggie containing a substance believed to be methamphetamine, several pieces of suspected drug paraphernalia, suspected fentanyl or cocaine powder, several pills, six cell phones, and multiple other items.  

After she was medically cleared, Brown was transported and booked into the Spokane County Jail for Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle, Attempting to Elude Law Enforcement, Malicious Mischief 1st Degree, Malicious Mischief 3rd Degree, Obstructing, Intimidating a Public Servant, Making False Statements, and Possession of a Controlled Substance.  She is also being held on warrants for Theft 3rd Degree, Violation of a Protection Order, and a Washington State Department of Corrections Escape Community Custody Hold.  

Thankfully, no members of the public or Officers/Deputies were injured during this tense and unpredictable incident.                
Scene_1StolenVehicleDamaged SCSO

This Spokane County Sheriff Office news article "Deputy Responds to ALPR Alert and Locates Reported Stolen Vehicle" was originally found on https://www.spokanecounty.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?CID=7

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