SPOKANE, Wash. - An early-morning armed robbery left the victim with a non-life threatening stab wound and a Spokane Police Officer with neck injuries after a GMC Envoy collided with his patrol car as he responded to assist officers chasing the suspects.
The name of the injured officer is being withheld until Monday. He reportedly has a non-life threatening neck fracture he suffered when the SUV driven by 19-year-old Taylor R. Shockman broadsided his patrol car at Riverside and Browne at 2:30 a.m.
Investigators believe the officer was using his emergency equipment when he drove through a flashing red stop signal and was hit broadside by Shockman. She suffered minor injuries in the crash and was administratively arrested for Vehicular Assault before being released to her parents.
A minor, Shockman faces potential additional charges for Driving while Impaired and Minor in Possession of Alcohol.
The injured officer was responding to assist other SPD officers in pursuit of two robbery suspects, one of whom had stabbed a man in the stomach during a robbery at the Cenex Station at Mission and Ruby at about 2:23 a.m. Saturday. The suspects took the victim's wallet containing a small amount of cash.
Officers spotted the suspects' gray Honda Civic and engaged in a short pursuit that ended on Spokane Falls Boulevard near Riverfront Park. A foot pursuit of one of the suspects ended when he jumped into the Spokane River, but he was taken into custody shortly after he came out of the water.
The two robbers were identified as 30-year-old Christopher W. Hardwick and 26-year-old Kevin W. Nichols. The Honda Civic they were driving had been reported stolen from a Spokane City address Friday morning. Officers recovered the victim's stolen wallet.
Hardwick was booked into the Spokane County Jail on felony counts of Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle, Attempting to Elude a Police Vehicle, Second-Degree Possession of Stolen Property, First-Degree Robbery and First-Degree Assault.
Nichols was booked on charges of First-Degree Assault, First-Degree Robbery and Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle.
Because the DUI collision at Riverside and Browne involved a Spokane Police Officer, the Spokane County Sheriff's Office became the lead investigative agency under the Critical Incident Protocol.
Both the robbery and crash remain under investigation.
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