Police shoot driver after chase

A Spokane police officer shot the driver of a stolen Honda early Tuesday after the suspect rammed a patrol car in north Spokane. The driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries from being shot in the lower back and was later caught after making several phone calls to a woman he did not know was a police officer.

The incident began shortly after midnight when two Spokane officers attempted to pull over a stolen car near Post Street and Lacrosse Avenue. The driver pulled into a nearby alley, where three people bailed out of the car and ran, Officer Glenn Bartlett said.

The officers got out of their car with weapons drawn, as is procedure in felony stops, Sgt. Joe Peterson said. That’s when the driver turned the vehicle around in the alley and sped toward the patrol car.

“He rammed the police car, knocking one officer over,” Peterson said. “At some point the other officer shot at the vehicle.”

The driver then sped off and dumped the car near Madison Street and Cora Avenue. Police tried to track the driver with a K-9 unit but were unsuccessful, Bartlett said.

It was later determined that the driver, 19-year-old Taylor J. Davis, walked to a Safeway store at Northwest Boulevard and Maple Street, where he got a ride from an acquaintance.

Then officers caught a break. Davis called the cell phone of one of the passengers who had jumped out of the car.

Spokane Police Officer Michelle Madsen answered the call, talking to the suspect then and during subsequent calls, Peterson said.

“He believes he’s talking to the person he let out earlier,” Peterson said. Madsen “does a spectacular job of playing along and finding out where he’s at.”

Those conversations allowed authorities to trace the call to a home southwest of Spokane near Marshall, where Davis was hiding. Officers then swooped in about 3 a.m. to arrest Davis with the assistance of the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, Peterson said.

Davis was treated for the gunshot wound, released in the afternoon and booked into jail on charges of possession of stolen property, taking a motor vehicle without permission and first-degree assault.

The bullet that wounded Davis worked its way out of his back during his escape and was found on the seat of the Honda.

Davis was arrested Nov. 14 for earlier charges of possessing stolen property and attempting to elude police and had just gotten out of jail Friday.

The three other people in the car were Randy D. Cook, 24, Jennifer L. Pettit, 19, and Kari J. Pettit, 21. All three – Spokane residents – were arrested on charges of taking a motor vehicle without permission and for possession of stolen property.

Officers believe they may have broken into a car late Tuesday night and that some of the stolen goods might be in the Honda. The car had been stolen Nov. 6 from a home on West Gardner Avenue.

The officer knocked over in the crash is a volunteer reserve officer. Peterson said that officer was bruised but able to go home.

The shooting officer, whose identity hasn’t been released, is on paid administrative leave in accordance with Spokane police procedures for shootings.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office will take over the investigation, as is protocol with Spokane police officer-involved shootings.