This deputy gave new meaning to barking orders.
Wild body camera footage shows a Washington state sheriff’s deputy barking and bellowing like an angry police dog to scare a pair of juvenile car thieves out of hiding.
“Does this Count as a K-9 Capture?” the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department asked lightheartedly while sharing footage of the bust late last month in suburban Tacoma.
The footage shows officers initially trying to use spike sticks to stop a white sedan that had just been reported stolen from a cemetery, only for the occupants to abandon it nearby and flee.
The search quickly focused on a wooded creekbed, with one of the officers spotting them, saying: “They’re down here! They’re down here!”
“Don’t make us release our K-9!” another officer then shouts — immediately howling in imitation of an imaginary angry dog on the hunt.
An unidentified Pierce County sheriff’s deputy managed to get teenagers accused of stealing a car to come out of hiding on Aug. 18. Pierce County Sheriff's Department
Sgt. Darren Moss Jr. praised the deputy’s “creativity” in a video posted to the department’s Facebook page. Pierce County Sheriff's DepartmentWhen the suspects started to move, he repeatedly made the same dog sounds — until the juveniles surrendered.
“The best thing about this whole thing is that the kids actually believed there was a dog,” Pierce County Sgt. Darren Moss said with a smile in a video commentary along with the clip.
“And in the end, they told the deputies, ‘Man, as soon as I heard that dog, I gave up.’
“So, awesome job and A+ for creativity in figuring out a way to get these to comply. Way to go.”
While sharing the footage, the department told viewers to “please watch to the very end for a great treat,” adding a laughing emoji.
The sheriff’s office had been called to a report of a car theft, with body camera footage showing a sergeant putting down a spike stick that the white sedan ran over. Pierce County Sheriff's Department
The deputy followed the path to a heavily wooded area where the suspects were hiding. Pierce County Sheriff's Department“Sometimes it is a real dog or a real one is on the way. Shouldn’t stay hidden and wait to find out, right?”
Many commentators laughed along, with some calling it the “best trick ever.”
“That was maybe my favorite tactic and capture of the year,” a local community page said.
Two other teenage suspects were also arrested and the deputies were able to find the stolen vehicle nearby, officials said.
The suspects have not been identified, and it remains unclear what charges they may face.
