Police Car Ran Red Light Before Wreck

A Spokane police reserve officer may be responsible for the downtown collision that totaled two patrol cars and left three officers injured, including himself.

Bradley Tucker, 38, was driving south on Howard about 8 p.m. when an “officer needs assistance call” came over the radio.

Witnesses said he turned on his lights and siren and went through a red light at Howard and Third, where he hit a patrol car driven by Jay Mehring.

Both officers suffered head and neck injuries, as did Officer Ken Lesperance, 32, a passenger in Tucker’s car. Mehring, 27, was heading to the same distress call.

“They were lucky,” said Cpl. Harry Kennedy, who works in the department’s traffic unit. “They didn’t T-bone each other, they hit on the corners of the bumpers. And they weren’t driving very fast.”

Two more police cars going east on Third narrowly missed the accident and continued to the original call. A traffic light damaged in the accident fell into the intersection and shattered seconds after those cars passed.

Witnesses said all four police cars appeared to be driving at safe speeds, but noted the northbound car, driven by Tucker, ran the red light.

While laws permit police to go through red lights during high priority calls, they must take extraordinary precautions, Kennedy said.

Having the patrol car’s lights and siren on and making sure the intersection is clear are among the requirements, he said.

So far this year, there have been 29 accidents involving Spokane police cars. Last year there were 33. The numbers reflect all collisions, including minor ones not involving police pursuits or calls.

Tests based on measurements at the scene will determine how fast the officers in Saturday’s accident were driving. If the investigation finds Tucker at fault, an internal review will be conducted, Kennedy said.

The officer who pushed the distress button on his belt did so accidentally as he arrived at a domestic violence call in the East Central neighborhood, police said. Dispatchers were unable to reach the officer over the radio and sent backup.

Patrol Capt. Chuck Bown said discipline is the same for a reserve officer involved in collisions as it is for a commissioned one.

Reserve officers work a few shifts each month and aren’t paid, but have the authority to arrest suspects. They must pass an academy training course similar to the one full-time, commissioned officers go through.

Discipline for officers involved in accidents can range from remedial training and counseling to a verbal reprimand or suspension, he said.

”(The accident) is reviewed up every step of the chain of command,” Bown said.

All three officers were treated and released from a hospital but have not returned to work yet. Tucker was riding with Lesperance during one of his regular reserve shifts. The two took turns driving the patrol car, which is normal procedure whenever reservists ride with full-time officers.

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