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Officers hurt stopping man trying to
steal patrol car
Last updated April 2, 2008 9:44 p.m. PT
Two Bellevue police officers were hurt when they tried to stop a thief stealing their patrol car early Wednesday.
Officers Tyler Cornmesser, 37, and Darin Karosich, 30, were providing traffic control for a road construction crew near 116th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 10th Street around 12:30 a.m. when a 22-year-old man approached.
The man, who is from Enumclaw, had been admitted to Overlake Hospital, but had walked away. Police said he initially passed the two officers, but then returned and suddenly opened the driver's door of the patrol car.
The officers raced to stop the man, but he put the car in reverse. The open door knocked Cornmesser down and pulled Karosich along with the car.
The officers were able to scramble in and stop the car. Other officers arrived and helped arrest the man. He was booked into the King County Jail just past 6:30 a.m. on two counts of assaulting a police officer and one count of stealing a police vehicle.
The officers were treated at Overlake Hospital and released. Cornmesser, who has been with the department for nine years, suffered injuries to his head, back and hands. Karosich, with the department eight years, suffered a twisted knee.