Washington police officer barks like a dog to scare car thieves

As deputies in Washington State pursued a group of teens suspected of stealing a car last month, one deputy used an unusual tactic that tricked the suspects into surrendering: barking like a police dog.

Deputies responded just before 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 18 to a call of a stolen vehicle near a cemetery on Chambers Creek Way in University Place, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department said.

One deputy deployed stop sticks and waited for the stolen vehicle, which sustained four flat tires after running over the trap, according to authorities.

The suspects, however, continued driving and deputies had to call off the pursuit.

The stolen car was found unoccupied and still running along Bridgeport Way. Deputies surrounded the area and began searching for the teens.

In a wooded area, one deputy spotted the group in a creek bed, according to bodycam footage of the incident. 

“Stop, police! Don’t make us release our K-9!” the deputy can be heard yelling.

One deputy can then be heard barking like a dog, according to the video.

After the deputy imitated a dog bark multiple times, the four juveniles came out of the creek bed and surrendered.

“The kids actually believed there was a dog, and, in the end, they told the deputies, ‘Man, soon as I heard that dog, I gave up,’” Sgt. Darren Moss Jr. said in a video posted to the department’s Facebook.

Moss commended the deputies, giving them a “A+” for creativity in getting the teens to comply.

The video ends with the deputies placing the teens under arrest. No details about the suspects’ identities or what charges they may face were immediately provided.