FORKS — A Forks police officer is recovering from surgery at a Seattle hospital after he broke his leg and wrist during a struggle with a man who backed into his patrol car and fled on foot last weekend and was later arrested.
Officer Mike Gentry had stopped Walter B. Martin-Perez, 23, at the Evergreen 76 gas station at about 11:55 p.m. Saturday.
Martin-Perez, who has no address listed in court records, backed a 1996 Ford Explorer into the patrol car and took off, police said.
Gentry pursued Martin-Perez and caught him in a nearby parking lot.
“As the two went to the ground, the officer broke his tibia and his wrist,” and Martin-Perez took off again, Sgt. Mike Rowley said Tuesday.
After the foot pursuit, Gentry was transported from Forks Community Hospital to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, court papers said.
Rowley said Gentry is recovering from one surgery and still needs two more surgeries.
Witnesses followed Martin-Perez to the Forks Mobile Home Park but lost sight of him there, according to the arrest narrative.
Information provided to police led to Martin-Perez’s arrest in the Forks area Monday, Rowley said.
Martin-Perez was being held in the Clallam County jail Tuesday for investigation of second-degree assault of a police officer, hit-and-run, obstructing a public servant and driving without a valid license.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer set bail at $10,000 in Martin-Perez’s initial court appearance Tuesday.
Formal charges are expected to be filed Thursday.
On Sunday, Gentry told the investigating officer that the SUV Martin-Perez was driving was traveling at a “very slow speed” on Calawah Way before it took wide turn onto U.S. Highway 101 and overcorrected.
The Ford Explorer crossed the centerline twice before taking a wide turn into the gas station, according to the motion for determination of probable cause.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.