Lakewood police chased suspect to ‘scare’ him before fatal wreck, lawsuit claims
Lakewood police officers who chased a robbery suspect at high speed before the 16-year-old collided with a semitruck, killing its driver, were trying to scare the suspect and teach him a lesson in a “rogue pursuit” that ignored department policies and state law, a lawsuit claims.
The officers were not trained on the legal standards governing vehicle pursuits or certified in any pursuit-intervention options, and they did not contact their supervising sergeant before giving chase, according to the wrongful death lawsuit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma.
Bohdan Vetrov, 57, was ejected from his truck in the June 2023 collision, throwing him over an overpass and onto Interstate 5. He was a father of seven who immigrated to the United States from Ukraine with his wife and children in 2017.
Afterward, the Lakewood Police Department took no action to discipline the officers involved and did not conduct an internal review, according to a copy of the lawsuit’s complaint.
The legal action comes after attorneys for the family of Vetrov, Mark Lindquist and Angus Lee, filed a $26 million claim in November against the City of Lakewood.
“Police can catch the bad guys without endangering the public if they follow the rules and use common sense,” Lindquist said in a news release.
The Lakewood Police Department declined to comment Wednesday on the pending litigation.
Lakewood, Police Chief Patrick Smith and the two officers who initiated the pursuit, Cole Craner and Sean Urckfitz, were named as defendants to the lawsuit, which alleges negligence, deprivation of civil rights and a failure to train officers.
Nine other officers were identified as not having been certified in pursuit-intervention options required by department policy and state law, RCW 10.116.060.
The early-morning collision occurred almost five hours after a 7-Eleven was robbed at gunpoint. According to the pleadings, Craner learned of the robbery and confirmed he knew a suspect’s identity, documenting in a report that he was 100% confident of his identity and home address in the Tillicum neighborhood.
Craner and Urckfitz positioned themselves near his home and spotted his vehicle, a stolen Kia Sportage. The lawsuit states the suspect was driving safely, and he sped up when he became aware he was being followed. Craner activated his lights and sirens to pursue, and Urckfitz joined in. Trying to evade the officers, the suspect blew through a stop sign and later ran a red light at the intersection of Freedom Way and Interstate 5, where the suspect’s car slammed into Vetrov’s semitruck.
The two 16-year-old boys in the Kia were taken to a hospital and survived the wreck. The driver was later sentenced to 15-36 weeks in juvenile rehabilitation after he pleaded guilty in Pierce County Juvenile Court to vehicular homicide and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle. The passenger faced less serious charges, and his criminal case was sealed, so the outcome of his case is unclear.
Attorneys for Vetrov’s family argued that there were safer alternatives to the pursuit, including surveilling the suspect at a distance and containing him in the Tillicum neighborhood, which had only two entry or exit points. The lawsuit said officers could have boxed in the suspect when he arrived at his residence to prevent escape or, given the suspect’s prior contacts with police, coordinated with juvenile probation officers or family to facilitate a surrender.
“Given that the officers failed to use available, approved, and safe alternatives to apprehend the suspect, it is reasonable to infer that the officers were trying to teach the suspect a lesson by scaring him and endangering him or harming him in a chase,” the lawsuit states. “In the rogue pursuit, the officers ignored policies and laws, which is further evidence of an intent beyond legitimate law enforcement. “