PORT ANGELES — A 25-year-old Port Angeles man has been charged with attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle for allegedly leading a sheriff’s deputy on a high-speed chase and twice ramming the lawman’s patrol car, court papers said.
Cody J. Stallknecht will be arraigned Friday in Clallam County Superior Court for the Monday morning incident west of Sequim.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said Stallknecht was driving a Toyota truck westbound on Old Olympic Highway at a “high rate of speed” at about 1:31 a.m. Monday, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
Deputy Don Kitchen said Stallknecht reached speeds of about 80 mph before he slammed on the brakes in an attempt to spin the vehicle.
“The truck swerved, turned hard left and entered the ditch on the south side of the road,” Kitchen wrote in his arrest report.
“I removed my seat belt and was preparing to exit my vehicle when Stallknecht placed his vehicle into reverse and slammed the back of his truck into the front of my patrol car.”
Stallknecht spun the truck around and accelerated east on Old Olympic Highway with Kitchen in pursuit, court papers said.
Stallknecht lost control of the truck as he attempted to turn onto Kitchen-Dick Road, Kitchen said.
“I continued to follow south on Kitchen-Dick Road with speeds reaching 95 mph in a 50 mph zone,” Kitchen wrote.
“Stallknecht approached [U.S.] Highway 101, failed to stop at the intersection and turned wide left onto Highway 101, nearly causing a collision with another vehicle traveling east on Highway 101,” Kitchen wrote.
Stallknecht lost control of the truck and slid into a ditch on the north side of the highway near Boyce Road, according to Kitchen’s account.
Kitchen stopped his patrol car about 10 feet from the truck.
“Stallknecht placed his vehicle in reverse and slammed into the front of my patrol car a second time,” Kitchen wrote.
Stallknecht drove through the ditch and swiped the front left side of the deputy’s patrol car, Kitchen said.
“I pulled up to the passenger side of his truck, placed my push bars against the truck and pushed him into the ditch,” Kitchen wrote.
“Stallknecht’s passenger side wheels came up off the ground and the trucked stopped.”
Kitchen ordered Stallknecht and a passenger out of the vehicle and held them at gunpoint until other officers arrived.
“Stallknecht stated he thought I was a person chasing him from a party they just left and he was scared,” Kitchen wrote in his report.
“Stallknecht initially stated he did not know I was a police officer. Stallknecht later stated that he messed up and he was sorry.”
Stallknecht posted $5,000 bail Monday.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at [email protected].
