Man fires at deputies in drive-by at Pierce County precinct

Man fires at Pierce County deputies at precinct

Pierce County deputies say a convicted felon fired multiple shots at the Parkland precinct.

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - A drive-by shooting suspect was arrested early Wednesday morning, and deputies believe he was targeting their Parkland Precinct.

According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department (PCSD), at around 12:24 a.m., deputies inside the precinct were completing paperwork when they heard gunshots from a passing car on Pacific Ave. S. They believed the shots were directed toward them.

A deputy and a sergeant immediately pursued the dark-colored vehicle on Pacific Ave. They spotted a dark sedan making a U-turn at the Spanaway Lake Golf Course's side gate on Military Rd. E.

The deputies reported that as they drove past, the suspect pulled out of the gate's driveway, following behind them with the window rolled down, prompting one deputy to fear the possibility of being shot at.

The sergeant driving ahead of both cars slowed down to get the suspect to pass, but the suspect also dropped speed, maintaining his position behind them.

The PCSD stated that the sergeant pulled into a Safeway parking lot while his colleague sped through the 159th and Pacific Ave. intersection to distance himself from the suspect.

After the suspect turned left at the intersection, deputies were able to get behind the vehicle and conduct a traffic stop.

Deputies detained the suspect but could not find any firearms. The sergeant then suggested they search near the golf course where they last saw the suspect.

Deputies found a SIG Sauer pistol near the driveway to the golf course, and after serving a search warrant, found a spent shell casing in the suspect’s vehicle. However, investigators did not find any spent shell casings on Pacific Ave. or any damage to the precinct building.

The suspect, 33-year-old Omari Brown, a convicted felon, was booked into Pierce County Jail for drive-by shooting, assault, and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

"You are not expecting to get shot at while taking a break. They were outside of the gated area. We don't usually just have people shoot at us very often, but when you have something like this just out of the blue in the open, it's just shocking," said Sgt. Darren Moss.