An armed woman allegedly stole a cash register from a pharmacy and walked out of the store right into the hands of a Seattle police officer last month, a bodycam video released Tuesday showed.
The masked woman allegedly stole the cash register and stepped out of the pharmacy with an equally masked suspected male accomplice Apr. 29 when a Seattle Police Department (SPD) officer encountered and arrested her, the SPD video showed. The male suspect slunk off but officers later arrested him after a brief pursuit on foot.
The woman could be seen stepping out, a cash register nestled in both hands, accompanied by the male suspect, only to encounter the SPD officer. A woman could be seen running out after them.
“Ain’t doing nothing,” said the male suspect, the video showed.
“Whoa—whoa, whoa, hey!” said the officer. “Hey, hey, put that down, put your hands behind your back.” The male suspect slipped away.
The woman who ran out after the suspects said “Yes,” pointing at the female suspect. Another woman also did the same, according to the video.
The female suspect complied with the officer’s orders.
The arresting officer spotted the male suspect hiding in plain sight and reported to a colleague. The male suspect emerged from hiding, presumably supposing himself to be in the clear, only for the officer to call, “Show me your hands,” the video showed. (RELATED: ‘We’re Screwed’: Liberal City Hemorrhages Police Officers Amid Massive Crime Spike)
“That’s not me!” replied the suspect.
“Down on the ground now!” the officer said.
“That’s not me, sir!” said the suspect again.
The officer repeated the order. The suspect charged at and pushed the officer before fleeing, the video showed.
Officers gave chase, yelling orders for the suspect to “get on the ground now.” They overpowered and arrested the suspect soon afterward.
“It wasn’t even me!” cried the suspect, lying face down on the road, as officers handcuffed him.
The officers seized a concealed handgun from the female suspect but said the suspect did not use the gun in the alleged theft, according to the video report.
The female suspect was booked in jail “for the theft and Unlawful Carry of a pistol,” according to the video report.
Officers reportedly charged the male suspect with “Obstructing a Law Enforcement Officer,” arrested him for a previous domestic violence incident, and booked him in jail.
The officers also recovered narcotics from the suspects, according to the video.
Violent crime and gun violence reached a 15- and 11-year high respectively in 2022, according to the SPD’s 2022 crime report. Two out of 10 arrestees were suspected repeat offenders, according to the report.
While the SPD data for 2023 shows a drop in overall recorded crime from 2022, homicides and vehicle thefts have kept rising.