4 drivers stopped for a crashed police car near Pasco. They wound up helping arrest the officer

A Franklin County sheriff’s sergeant thought he would have to shoot another officer “point-blank in the head” to protect himself and others.

The Soap Lake officer kept reaching into his jacket while resisting arrest for drunk driving.

Shane W. Jones was not wearing a police uniform Thursday night when Sgt. Paul Hill found him standing on the side of snowy Highway 395, just north of Pasco.

Jones’ patrol car was nearby, stuck in a ditch with its emergency lights flashing. But he wasn’t alone.

Several passing drivers had pulled over to check on him. And a semi truck driver was hooking up a tow line to pull the patrol car out of the snow. Jones’ police dog, Basco, was still inside.

Minutes later, the same Good Samaritans would come to the aid of Sgt. Hill, as he struggled to keep Jones on the ground.

Hill asked one person to sit on Jones’ legs, another to grab his arms and a third to get on Hill’s own back in an effort to keep Jones from getting up.

He didn’t know if Jones had a gun and believed the off-duty K9 officer was trying to release Basco from the car to attack him.

Court documents filed Friday detail what happened in the minutes before the now-fired Soap Lake officer was handcuffed for DUI and for stealing the patrol car.

Hill described being “deathly afraid” of what the intoxicated Jones might do to him, saying Jones was “fighting so hard” and trying to “buck me off of him.”

Later asked by his supervisor if he was OK, Hill said he then “realized I was physically shaking and started to cry a little when I was alone on the side of the road.”

“The emotions I had going through me ... I thought I would have to shoot Mr. Jones point-blank in the head to protect myself and the citizens that were there,” wrote Hill. “I have never had a situation or heard of anything like this in my career.”

Four beer bottles

Jones, 49, reportedly had no official business in the Tri-Cities that would explain why he had been driving south on 395 just before 8 p.m. Thursday.

A later search of the patrol car turned up four beer bottles, along with a pistol and his badge and wallet. The car — which he’d been assigned for work and was allowed to take home — is now in evidence.

Jones, meanwhile, was booked into the Franklin County jail on suspicion of possessing a stolen vehicle, a felony, misdemeanor resisting arrest and driving under the influence and operating a vehicle without ignition interlock, both gross misdemeanors.

He appeared Friday in Franklin County Superior Court via a video link, and was granted a public defender since he’s no longer employed. He lives in Moses Lake.

Attorney Eric Scott asked for Jones’ release on his own recognizance, saying he is not going to run because his family, including grandchildren, are all in Eastern Washington.

Judge Jackie Shea Brown opted to keep bail at $20,000, “understanding the nature of the crimes being investigated, understanding the history with DUI, understanding the dangerousness of a pattern of DUI relative to the safety of this defendant and others on the road.”

Jones has two prior DUI arrests that were reduced to negligent driving and reckless endangerment.

He became a Soap Lake reserve officer four months ago after retiring from the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office after 17 years.

On Friday, Soap Lake Police Chief Ryan Cox confirmed to the Tri-City Herald that Jones has been fired.

Hit and run

Soap Lake is 20 miles north of Moses Lake with a population of about 1,500 and a police force of seven officers. The Grant County city has called for its own investigation into the stolen patrol car.

Before Jones crashed into a ditch while driving south toward Pasco, he rear-ended a car near the intersection of Highways 17 and 395, and then drove away, said Washington State Patrol Trooper Chris Thorson.

A Franklin County sheriff’s deputy was already responding to that hit-and-run scene when Sgt. Hill came upon what he thought was a state patrol car that slid off the road near Milepost 31 on Highway 395.

He stopped to find several vehicles and a semi-truck, and five men all in street clothes. He had expected to see an officer in uniform, and “was dismayed by what was going on.”

Realizing he was the lone law enforcement officer, at least on duty, he radioed emergency dispatchers to send additional deputies.

Jones acknowledged Hill with, “Hey sergeant,” and said the other motorists were helping to get his car out, court documents said. Hill noticed that Jones was slurring his words and swaying as he stood along the highway.

Hill then had Jones step away from the group and asked what was going on. Jones refused to answer.

Hill noted that the area was well lit with all the headlights and flashing emergency lights so he could see Jones had bloodshot, watery eyes.

He said in documents that Jones smelled like liquor, so he got closer and asked Jones to blow into his face, documents said.

“He responded, ‘Come on, sergeant, don’t do this’ several times to me,” Hill wrote. He then told Jones he knew he was drunk, asked if he was armed and grabbed his arm. “I touched both sides of his hip quickly, but he kept pulling (away) and saying, ‘Don’t do this.’”

Jones allegedly ignored Hill’s questions and orders, and fought him off each time Hill grabbed his arms.

Hill said he used a “leg sweep” maneuver to get Jones onto the ground on his stomach. That is when Jones started reaching underneath and into his jacket for something, court documents said.

Hill again called for backup because Jones was fighting him, and said he was “holding onto Mr. Jones’ arms so hard that I felt something tear and pop in my left forearm.”

Jones’ left hand got free at one point and went into his jacket pocket. The trunk on his patrol car suddenly popped open, leading Hill to realize the officer was trying to open the door with a remote so his K9 dog could get free, documents said.

“I yelled again that I would shoot you, meaning Mr. Jones, if he didn’t stop reaching into his jacket with his left hand,” said Hill. “I can’t even describe the emotions I was feeling at this time because of Mr. Jones’ actions.”

Hill then asked the nearby citizens to help him in restraining Jones. Eventually, Jones “stopped fighting and said he couldn’t breathe.”

Hill asked the citizens to back off so he could straddle Jones while keeping a “death grip” on his hands until they were cuffed.

Jones asked to sit up, but fell over onto his side. Hill didn’t get a response when he yelled at him, so he rubbed Jones chest with his knuckles to see if he was conscious and Jones woke up, court documents said.

Once Jones was in custody and being watched by deputies, Hill said he was able to check a database and discover Jones was on a restricted driver’s license with an ignition interlock required.

There was no ignition interlock device inside the patrol car assigned to Jones.

Jones was taken to the emergency room at Lourdes Medical Center to have his blood drawn for alcohol testing before being booked into jail.

Previous DUI arrests

The former Okanogan County deputy had been fired in August 2006 two weeks after he was caught driving drunk while on vacation in Bremerton, according to the Wenatchee World.

The misdemeanor was deferred and charges were dropped after he met conditions and didn’t commit any crimes for five years.

At the time, the sheriff said he fired Jones because he lied about a gun in his vehicle and was belligerent during his arrest, the World reported.

An arbitrator decided Jones should be reinstated and awarded $200,000 in back pay plus attorney fees.

About 10 years later, Jones was pulled over while driving his personal car and had a sedative used to treat anxiety in his system. He resigned in April 2017, the World reported.