Suspect arrested in Wednesday car chase with police

The 25-year-old man suspected of speeding away from police in a stolen car while in possession of an officer’s gun has been taken into custody, Spokane police said Thursday. Sam Banks was arrested and booked into the Spokane County Jail overnight after police said he fled the scene of a traffic stop around 4 p.m. Wednesday. Banks started the car as an officer, drawing his weapon, approached the vehicle on foot, police said. When Banks sped off in a green Honda reported stolen, the officer’s gun was knocked from his hand and into the moving vehicle. A high-speed chase ensued before Banks crashed into a wooden fence on the 6000 block of North Mayfair Street and he fled the car on foot. The officer’s gun was left in the car, and police think Banks was unaware of the weapon’s presence in his vehicle. Tips led police to a home at 1110 W. Maxwell Ave., where Banks was thought to be staying. He was arrested there without incident around 10 p.m. Wednesday and booked into jail about an hour later. The exact charges Banks will face stemming from the incident have not been released.