Suspect “Thinks” He Has a Warrant, Flees in a Vehicle and on Foot
Early Sunday, a suspect who thought he had a warrant for his arrest, fled from Deputies in a vehicle and on foot. He continually did not comply with commands and fought with Deputies in an effort to avoid arrest. During this incident, the suspect damaged two patrol cars.
On August 19, 2018, at approximately 2:10 a.m., Spokane Valley Deputy Joseph Wallace observed a Honda Civic fail to stop, or even slow down, for a red light on Mansfield as it turned south on Pines. Deputy Wallace activated his emergency lights to conduct a traffic stop on the westbound I-90 on ramp but the vehicle did not pull over. Deputy Wallace activated his siren and the driver, later identified as 26-year-old Tony G. Farb, accelerated.
Deputy Wallace pursued Farb while additional patrol units responded to assist. Farb exited I-90 at Argonne and slowed as he approached the intersection. With dramatically lower speeds, Deputy Wallace attempted to position his patrol car to conduct a PIT maneuver and safely end the pursuit when Farb suddenly slammed on the brakes and struck the side of Deputy Wallace’s patrol car. Farb lost control and spun before he regained control and fled, going the wrong way onto the westbound off ramp of I-90. Shortly after the collision, Deputy Wallace was unable to continue to pursue Farb due to the damage sustained.
Deputy Travis West, already in the area to assist, continued the pursuit of Farb. Fearing Farb would cause a head-on collision with vehicles traveling west, severely injuring or potentially killing someone, Deputy West attempted to move into position for a PIT maneuver to end the pursuit. As an uninvolved vehicle exited the freeway, Farb slammed on his breaks causing a collision between his car and Deputy West’s patrol car. Farb swerved across the exit ramp median as he attempted to turn west in the correct direction before pulling across all the lanes of travel and into the center median. Farb jumped out of the vehicle, over the center median wall, and ran south across the eastbound lanes of travel.
Farb ignored commands to stop and continued to run up the embankment of the south side of I-90. About halfway up the hill, Farb fell to the ground with his hand underneath him. Not knowing if Farb was armed, Deputy West jumped on top of him, ordering Farb to show his hands. Farb actively and violently resisted Deputy West’s attempts to secure him in handcuffs. Despite numerous commands to stop resisting, Farb continued to pull his arms in toward his body and toward his waistband area while kicking his legs.
With Deputy Wallace now attempting to assist, Farb continue to fight, causing all three to roll down the steep embankment. Once on semi level ground, the Deputies gained control of Farb and secured him in handcuffs.
Advised of his rights, Farb told Deputies he ran because he thought he had a Washington Department of Corrections warrant for his arrest due to a missed check-in appointment.
Farb was provided medical treatment and cleared before being transported and booked into the Spokane County Jail for Attempting to Elude a Law Enforcement Vehicle, Resisting Arrest, Obstructing and Driving while Suspended 3rd Degree. Deputies did not locate a warrant for Farb’s arrest.
Both patrol vehicles were pulled out of service pending an inspection and/or repairs. No Citizens or Deputies were injured during this incident.