Coulee Cops

Coulee Dam Police

3/26 - A couple on Fir Street had an argument over a haircut for their infant child. The man agreed to leave the residence to allow tensions to de-escalate. 

3/27 - An Aspen Street man reported two packages stolen from his porch totalling about $400 in value, including earbuds and a solid-state drive for a Playstation 5. More investigation is required. The victim was asked if he wished to press charges if a suspect was found. Not if it’s a kid, he said in effect, but if it’s someone who should have known better, then yes.

- A Marysville, WA woman could face the charge of intimidating a witness after allegedly making threatening statements to a woman who wrote a letter of support for the husband in a divorce case.

- While driving from Electric City to Coulee Dam, an officer noticed a car driving well below the speed limit and with poor lane control. The officer stopped the car near the overlook parking lot above the Grand Coulee Dam. The driver hadn’t been drinking, but had taken medication. There was no charge of driving under the influence but as the driver was unfit to drive home to Nespelem, her car was parked and she was given a ride to the casino so her daughter could pick her up to take her home.

3/29 - A vehicle known to police as having an expired registration was stopped near River Drive and 11th Street. The vehicle had a laminated temporary permit, a tactic used so that a driver can write a new date on the permit with a marker to avoid getting in trouble with police. The officer was privy to the technique, however, and the driver changed his story from having borrowed the car to having bought the car. He was also unlicensed. He was cited for the altered permit and a friend was allowed to move the vehicle.

- A woman was seen getting out of a white SUV near the turnoff to the Banks Lake Golf Course, acting aggressively towards “something” in the backseat, then speeding off. Police ran the plates and told Grant County officers about the situation. The owner of the vehicle is also known to frequent Coulee City. Coulee Dam Police didn’t see the vehicle in the area. 

- A vehicle heading up the hill by the Grand Coulee Dam was pulled over because its taillights weren’t working. The officer smelled alcohol and marijuana and asked the driver if he would perform a field sobriety test. The driver complied with the test and also provided the officer with a pistol in his jacket pocket that was in violation of the law of concealing a weapon as he didn’t have a permit to do so. The man was ultimately found to have a breath sample of about 0.16, twice the limit of 0.08. The man had been unsatisfied with the attorney he had been allowed to talk to. He was taken to Grant County Jail for driving under the influence and could be charged for the concealed pistol as well.

3/30 - Police saw a vehicle speeding slightly near the bridge in Coulee Dam, going 35 miles per hour in the 30 mph zone, then showing poor lane control when crossing the bridge and turning onto Columbia Avenue. The driver was stopped near Columbia and Stevens Avenue. The officer smelled a burnt substance and noted the driver’s erratic behavior, being cooperative then defensive, speaking quickly, moving in a jittery way, and generally showing signs of being high on methamphetamines. The driver refused to do a field test but agreed to provide breath samples, which showed no alcohol content. She also agreed to have her vehicle searched which resulted in nothing significant being found. She provided blood samples at the hospital, was cited for driving under the influence and told police she could get a ride home from someone. The vehicle was towed.

3/31 - Casino security footage showed a man recognizable to a tribal officer leave the casino then go to a Sixth Street address with an unknown female and run off when police arrived. A person at the Sixth Street address had reported someone trying to break in, and police saw fresh pry marks and chipped wood on a door there. Police put out an “attempt to locate” on the man from the video for attempted forced entry.

- A man who was parked on an access road near River Drive partially on private property was told that he had to move.

- A man at the casino was taken to Okanogan County Jail for violating a no-contact court order a woman has against him. The woman had reported him after seeing him at the casino, then leaving. She said she’d received text messages from him. However, she had sent him messages prior to him sending messages, meaning both had engaged in the conversation. Still, he was in violation of the protection order and taken to jail.