Armed home invasion turns into chase in stolen Fife Police car, ends with multiple cop cars destroyed

FIFE, Wash. - A home invasion suspect escaped from Fife Police, stole a patrol car, then smashed the stolen cop car into a Washington State Patrol (WSP) unit, investigators said.

The crime spree started as an armed home invasion on the 5800 block of 4th Street East in Fife.

"The victim was calling 911. At that point, she was able to barricade herself in the bathroom. She was also the first one to let us know that one of the suspects was armed with a handgun," said assistant chief Aaron Gardner with the Fife Police Department.

Gardner says when officers arrived, the three suspects tried to drive away, but ran their car into a ditch.

FOX 13 News learned two of the three suspects are Tovia Puaauli and Anne Faalogo. We are choosing to name them because of their extensive criminal history.

Gardner says during the attempted arrest, one of the suspects reached for a gun they had holstered.

"It’s super scary, you know, as far as police work goes. The last thing we ever want to get is a phone call of an officer shot or hurt. So, it was a very stressful incident for sure. Hence, why the officer’s focus was on the suspect and that gave the opportunity for the third subject to jump into the unsecured vehicle and flee the scene," he said.

Investigators say Faalogo is the one who took off in the Fife Police unit.

Because it is a police car, officers were able to track the fleeing vehicle with GPS.

Several agencies were involved in the chase.

That chase came to a dangerous end about four miles away from where the incident began.

"Our patrol car, with the suspect inside, ended up ramming, or colliding with that state patrol vehicle," said Gardner.

A WSP trooper was northbound on Portland Avenue with a civilian employee inside the patrol unit when Faalogo drove the stolen Fife Police car into them, investigators said.

The civilian WSP employee suffered several broken bones. The WSP trooper also suffered minor injuries.

All three suspects were arrested and face multiple charges including vehicular assault. The third was identified as Jason Franklin.

FOX 13 News asked Fife Police what could have been done to prevent this wild chase.

 "Could there be discussion, ‘he could have locked his vehicle before he exited,’ sure. ‘Could the department supply anti-theft devices on all of our patrol cars,’ absolutely. But those are some of the things we’ll look at down the road to see what we can improve on, but based on the circumstances what the officer was dealing with, I thought they did a great job," said Gardner.