Coulee Cops

Coulee Dam Police

9/2 - An officer spoke to an Electric City woman about an argument she had with her boyfriend that included him throwing some stuff near her phone causing it to fall and crack, and him leaving with their baby. The officer contacted the man by phone, but the man had not given a statement on the situation before the officer had checked out of service. Otherwise, he could have gone to jail for causing the damage to the phone, the officer explained to the woman.

- Police went to Camas Street where a woman explained a situation that involved her buying some beer to have a relaxing night with her son. She said that she didn’t give him permission to use her car, and during the course of an argument, he had thrown her to the ground causing an injury to her lip before driving away in her car. Police spoke to the son after locating him in Grand Coulee. He said his mother was drunk and fell and that he did have permission to use the car. He was ultimately cited and taken to Okanogan County Jail.

9/3 - Police could not find an injured deer reportedly near Coulee Playland.

9/4 - Police were told of a deer near River Drive that could not move its hind legs, likely due to being hit by a vehicle. When an officer went to check, the deer was dead.

- A Coulee Dam officer was speaking with a Grand Coulee officer in Grand Coulee at city hall when a car without a front license plate left the nearby gas station. The Grand Coulee officer followed the car to pull it over, and the Coulee Dam officer followed. A pursuit ensued, escalating to between 80 miles per hour and around 100, headed towards Wilbur. Lincoln County was informed of the pursuit. The car hit an embankment near Wilbur at SR-174 and Keller Road. The Grand Coulee officer was arresting the driver and the Coulee Dam officer was assisting. A Lincoln County deputy had driven too close to the situation, knocking the Coulee Dam officer to the ground, and his patrol vehicle was then positioned over the woman being arrested. The vehicle backed away. An ambulance was called for the woman, who noted pain in her ribs, on her arm and head. The Coulee Dam officer learned that the car had been reported as stolen. That officer went to the hospital in Grand Coulee and noted injuries to his hand, arms, knees and legs. The rest of the case was handled by Lincoln County and the Grand Coulee Police Department.

9/5 - Police checked on the welfare of a River Drive woman. A neighbor told police she had gone to the hospital a couple of weeks prior and had not yet returned. Police relayed that information to a concerned person who had requested the check on her welfare. 

- Police were told of people yelling on Roosevelt Way and Columbia Avenue. According to the report, kids were at a residence there and didn’t answer the door. 

- Police were told about a man pacing back and forth on the bridge in Coulee Dam. The reporting party had a “bad feeling” about the situation. An officer spoke to the man, known to police to have threatened to jump from the bridge in the past. Knowing the man, who said he was OK, was known to not respond well to police interaction, the officer chose not to engage further so as not to escalate matters. But moments later, a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation employee called police to say the man had climbed up to the top of the bridge as soon as police left. Traffic was shut down for several hours as the situation was handled. A bucket truck was arranged to provide the man with water and a cell phone to communicate with concerned family and mental health workers, although the man declined the phone offer. After hours of delayed traffic, the man came down voluntarily in the bucket truck. The man could face the charge of disorderly conduct for his actions and the traffic delay.

9/6 - Police responded to Aspen Street, where a young boy had been outside near a residence. The boy was with his mother when police arrived, and she explained he had wandered off from their home.