Man accused of attacking Connell officers, threatening to kill their families
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Pasco man allegedly assaulted officers and made death threats after DUI crash.
- He could face felony harassment charges for racial threats and violence.
- Police cited his criminal history to justify high bail and security measures.
A Pasco man is in jail accused of attacking police officers and threatening to kill them and their families after a DUI wreck near Connell.
He’s also accused of malicious harassment with racial motivations for comments made while attacking one officer.
It all started when Connell police responded to a wreck on Highway 395 just south of the city about 10 a.m. Tuesday.
They were told the driver got out of his vehicle in the southbound lanes, walked a short distance and collapsed. Medics arrived shortly before officers and had to stop him after he ran across the highway.
The man was later identified as Brandon Burke Creel, 40, of Pasco.
The Connell Fire Chief told officers that once they got Creel out of the road, he tried to run again, and they had to restrain him, according to court documents.
Fighting officers
Creel was in the back of the ambulance when officers approached him.
As the officer got to the ambulance, Creel flung the door open and stepped out while yelling at the medics.
Creel allegedly told the officer that he was not driving the car, he was hit by it.
However his injuries didn’t match up with someone hit by a car. Witnesses confirmed Creel was driving, according to court records.
While talking to Creel, officers said they could smell a strong odor of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot and watery.
The medics told one officer that Creel admitted to drinking a pint of vodka, according to the documents.
When Creel allegedly tried to flee again, officers told him he was being detained on suspicion of DUI and tried to handcuff him.
It was at this point that officers said Creel began fighting them.
Creel allegedly tried to pull away and run toward the highway, so officers took him to the ground.
He began yelling that he was going to kill the officers and slamming his head against the ground, according to the documents.
Police say he continued threatening officers and tried to spit on a Black officer. He then began using racial slurs, allegedly threatened to break the officer’s jaw and kill him, according to the documents.
Eventually, officers were able to put a restraining device on him.
Death threats
Creel was taken to Lourdes Medical Center in Pasco, where hospital staff had to ask officers to restrain him because he was allegedly trying to fight them too.
Officers said Creel ripped out his IV and threw it at a Washington State Patrol trooper. He then allegedly bit another officer.
Hospital staff chemically restrained Creel because he needed X-rays and CT scans to check for injuries.
At the hospital, Creel allegedly read out loud one officer’s name tag, telling him he would remember his name and face and kill his entire family, according to the documents.
He also claimed he had researched the officer and said that when he gets out, he was going to burn him alive in front of his family, according to court documents.
Creel has a lengthy criminal history that includes two previous convictions for assaulting officers in Okanagan County, according to court records.
Creel was later booked into the Franklin County jail on suspicion of three counts of third-degree assault on a police officer, malicious harassment with racial motivation, felony harassment for threats to kill, obstruction of law enforcement, resisting arrest and DUI.
He also had a warrant for a previous third-degree assault.
He made an initial appearance in Franklin County Superior Court on Wednesday and is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
This story was originally published August 14, 2025 at 12:59 PM.
