A Washington state man strung out on fentanyl tried to detonate a homemade bomb as he was surrounded by police following a highway pursuit, shocking bodycam footage shows.
The Bellevue Police Department and Washington State troopers say they were chasing a stolen black Mercedes sedan on Interstate 90 when the driver, identified as 42-year-old Sokphana Soeung, jumped out and fled on foot after police stopped him with a so-called PIT maneuver.
Footage released by Bellevue cops shows an officer sprinting towards the suspect in the middle of the road with several colleagues in pursuit.
As the officers close in, the suspect can be seen with a lighter in one hand and an improvised explosive made from a tennis ball in the other. Before Soeung could light the fuse, police say, he was tackled by a gang of seven cops.
“The suspect threw an IED or some sort of explosive,” one of the officers says as they place Soeung in handcuffs.
“As soon as you can, back away,” he warns. “IED! IED!”
The low-speed police chase started at Enatai Beach Park in Bellevue when police spotted the stolen vehicle running with two people inside and suspected a DUI, Fox 13 Seattle reported.
The pursuit continued westbound on the freeway to Mercer Island as Soeung allegedly ignored officers’ commands and drove around patrol cars. He continued driving even after all four of the car’s tires had been popped by police spike strips.
On I-90, the passenger, who has not been identified, jumped out of the stolen car and was taken into custody by police while Soeung continued driving at speeds never exceeding more than 10 miles per hour.
The tennis ball bomb was filled with about 50 grams of explosive powder with a fuse inserted, an ATF special agent told Fox 13.
Police said that the passenger was found with 50 fentanyl pills and told investigators that he and Soeung had just smoked the deadly drug and were planning on driving to Seattle, about 10 miles away.
Soeung had prior warrants out for his arrest and was already facing charges of possession of a stolen vehicle.
The suspect was being held on a $750,000 bond.