Bellingham man allegedly rams police car while attempting to get away during crime spree
A Bellingham man is suspected of intentionally ramming a Bellingham Police Department patrol vehicle with a stolen truck late Tuesday during his efforts to get away during a crime spree in the Birchwood neighborhood.
Todd Grant Hawley, 38, was booked into Whatcom County Jail Wednesday, Nov. 10, on suspicion of multiple charges, including first-degree assault (two counts), first-degree malicious mischief, theft of a motor vehicle, attempting to elude police, hit-and-run of an occupied vehicle and DUI. Jail records show he is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Police responded at 11:52 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, to the 3000 block of Cherrywood Avenue after receiving a 911 call from a resident in the area reporting that a man attempted to open their door and enter their house without permission, Lt. Claudia Murphy told The Bellingham Herald in an email.
From the description provided by the resident, officers identified the man as Hawley, whom they had been trying to reach throughout the day for allegedly stealing liquor from a number of gas stations, Murphy reported.
The first arriving officer heard a vehicle engine start along Cherrywood Avenue and spotted Hawley sitting in the driver’s seat of a yellow truck parked in a driveway, according to Murphy.
The officer shouted to Hawley that he was under arrest and to get out of the truck, Murphy reported, but instead Hawley shut the door and started to leave the driveway “at a high rate of speed.”
A second patrol vehicle arrived as Hawley was leaving, according to Murphy, “and Hawley intentionally rammed into the second patrol officer’s fully marked patrol car. ... This ramming caused significant damage to the front of the patrol car and made clear Hawley’s intent and willingness to inflict great bodily harm or injury.”
The truck Hawley was driving bounced off the police vehicle, across Cherrywood Avenue and into the front yard of a home, Murphy reported, before it returned to Cherrywood Avenue and drove off at speeds reaching 47 mph in a 25 mph zone and running two stop signs.
Hawley lost control of the truck when he was approaching a third stop sign at West Maplewood Avenue and ended up in the yard of a nearby house, Murphy reported.
While trying to get the truck back into the road, Hawley hit the same patrol vehicle he had struck before and threw the truck in reverse, before it became high-centered on a curb, according to Murphy.
With the truck no longer able to move, officers attempted to get Hawley out of the truck, Murphy reported, but talking had no effect, as Hawley continued to rev the engine in an attempt to free the truck.
Police attempted to use a taser and fired bean bags at Hawley, but they had no effect, according to Murphy. Officers then used chemical irritants to get Hawley out of the truck and place him under arrest.
No injuries were noted in the incident, Murphy reported.
This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 10:45 AM.
