Coulee Cops

Grand Coulee

Police

2/19 - Police pulled a car over on Grand Coulee Avenue for going 55 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone. Police noticed an open Busch beer can in the driver’s cupholder. Asked how much he had to drink, the man said, “too much.” He blew a breathalyzer result of 0.276, more than three times over the 0.08 limit for driving. The man was cited for driving under the influence, speeding, and driving with a suspended license. He was not taken to jail because he had dogs with him and no one to take them, and the officer’s report notes that the jail often doesn’t book people anyway. He did give them the keys to his Jeep, which they kept at the police station. Driving from Chelan, he was “a stone’s throw from my house” when he was stopped.

- Police stopped a driver near the top of the Grand Coulee Dam because he was suspected of driving under the influence. He said he’d had “a little bit” to drink. When asked to do a field sobriety test, he asked if the ground was flat. After showing impairment in the tests, he was cited for driving under the influence. He was taken to his home in Coulee Dam, and the arresting officer shook his hand when he dropped him off.

2/20 - Extra patrols were requested on A Street near the veterinarian office. Someone had been seen entering and leaving a shed on some nearby property, where they had left shoes and a mini fridge.

- Police went to a Grand Coulee Avenue residence where a woman said that during an argument, a man she was engaged with asked for the engagement ring back. She said he had shoved it in her face, tried to put it in her mouth, and threw it at her. The man admitted to “tossing” the ring at her and was ultimately taken to jail for malicious mischief and domestic assault.

- A man on Second Street had his trash can hit by a vehicle, and the plastic cracked on it. Grand Coulee and Coulee Dam officers responded. They were told the property owner had followed the vehicle after the collision and was speaking to people in it at Crown Point. There, the juvenile driver admitted to intentionally hitting the trash can. The owner didn’t wish to press charges but wanted police to “talk to the kid.” Police cited the kid for “wheels off the roadway,” and warned him that he had committed other crimes, including malicious mischief and hit and run. The young driver apologized for his actions and said that he and his friend thought it would be funny to hit the trash can.

- A driver was pulled over on Midway Avenue for driving erratically. After showing signs of impairment from field sobriety tests, and also estimating that he had drunk seven hard seltzers, he was taken to jail for driving under the influence. 

- A vehicle was broken down on SR-155. The driver explained that the fuel pump was faulty. A private citizen towed the vehicle towards the Spring Canyon Apartments, and police followed them for a time while they did so. 

2/21 - Someone prowled vehicles at a Roosevelt Drive residence. Items appeared to have been moved around, but nothing taken. Security footage showed a guy in a ski mask rummage through a vehicle and then leave. Police couldn’t identify a suspect. 

- A man faces the charge of violating a no contact order after sending messages to an ex-girlfriend from jail through a communications application used by prisoners at the Grant County Jail.

2/22 - The owner of the veterinarian clinic wishes for a man to be banned from the property after incidents of him walking around the building and trying to open the doors. Police know the man to be an unhoused person, according to the police report.

2/23 - Three storage units on Spokane Way were burglarized after their locks were cut. An $800 welder was stolen from one of the units, while another had multiple items stolen, including antique silver, a futon, family photos, wool rugs, tents and more. Nothing of significant value was reported stolen from the third unit. Police were unable to determine a suspect for the burglaries.

2/24 - An officer ran the plates of a vehicle he saw while parked on Federal Avenue and saw the plates belonged to another type of vehicle. He pulled over the car which eventually stopped on Federal Avenue. A woman said she bought the car from her son earlier in the day, and was argumentative when the officer explained that didn’t make the car street legal. She was cited for driving without her license, insurance, or proper registration for the vehicle. After citing her, the officer told her the car needed to be parked as it wasn’t street legal, but she drove off toward her Main Street residence as the cop followed her with his lights and siren on. The officer saw the male passenger leave the car and enter another vehicle. The officer parked behind the car and, with his handgun drawn, ordered the woman out of the vehicle. The chief of police also arrived and also told her to exit the vehicle, which she did not do. The man moved the other vehicle, the woman pulled her car into a driveway, and the man attempted to move the other vehicle in behind it to prevent access for a tow truck, the police report explains. The woman exited the vehicle and was ordered onto the ground. Police handcuffed her and cited her for failure to obey law enforcement. She was placed in the back of the chief’s patrol car. The report doesn’t say if she was taken to jail.

2/26 - At about 2 a.m., police looked into why there was a larger number of vehicles on Van Tyne Avenue. Police found a large gathering of people, including a woman wearing a sash that said “Happy Birthday,” and determined it was a birthday party. Police told the party only sober people should drive following the party. They then received word that a surveillance technician for the nearby UPS company wanted vehicles moved that were parked near delivery trucks. Three sober individuals were selected to move the vehicles. Then the host of the party wanted an argumentative guest removed. The intoxicated individual cooperated and received a ride from a relative. Police remained in the area to make sure no one drove away while intoxicated.

- Police attempted to deal with two white German shepherds that were running loose between Pole Park and Four Corners. An officer was unable to lure the dogs with meat sticks in order to read their collars. The owner, from Electric City, eventually picked the dogs up at Four Corners. The officer was then able to give the meat sticks to the dogs. 

Coulee Dam

Police

2/21 - Police went to the hospital after hearing about an irate patient being aggressive towards staff. Grand Coulee Police also arrived and the situation was already under control.

2/25 - People reported that a Kelso Avenue housemate took a “splitting maul” to a bookshelf because she was upset that they were at the casino. Police saw the bookshelf in pieces. The woman was found at the local tavern and arrested for malicious mischief and taken to jail. 

2/26 - Police spoke to a “known transient” who was around the school. The man said he was going to a friend’s house, but declined to say who the friend was and didn’t accept a ride offer to the house. He was told to stay away from the school. Later, police received a report that a man walking around Elmer City had somehow gained control of a woman’s dogs and was walking them near the bridge in Coulee Dam. Police were unable to locate him, but believe it to be the same “transient,” noting that he has been wandering between Grand Coulee and Coulee Dam for multiple days. Tribal police are handling the theft of the dogs.