A viral video shows a man pushing a Washington State Patrol officer along I-5 in Seattle, Washington, before jumping in and stealing her squad car.
The video shows the officer was shoved to the ground. At first, the man is seen in the video, which was published by TMZ, going over a road barrier to walk aimlessly around the busy highway as traffic whizzed past. The officer, who has not been named, then pulled her police SUV near the man on the highway, with lights activated.
The man then strolled over to the officer's squad car, pulled open the door, and then yanked the officer out of the vehicle and onto the ground before taking off with it, the video shows.
According to The Seattle Times, an unidentified man was in custody on Christmas Day "after he pushed a Washington State Patrol lieutenant on I-5 in Seattle and stole her vehicle."
The vehicle "was stolen on I-5 near North 85th Street before 12:30 p.m.," the newspaper reported.
The state patrol officer "was responding to a report of a pedestrian running across the highway," according to The Times, which reported that "the pedestrian pushed the lieutenant down and made off with her vehicle."
That led to a pursuit of the vehicle by multiple law enforcement agencies, and it was eventually recovered in Lynnwood without anyone being injured, according to The Times.
Although there were no injuries in this incident, the video went viral. According to TMZ, Washington police say the officer will not be disciplined for the incident.
The Washington State Patrol is currently mourning the death of another female officer. Trooper Tara Marysa-Guting was struck by a vehicle and killed in a separate incident while standing outside her squad car to investigate a collision, a news release says. That tragedy occurred along State Route 509 in Washington State.