Unlicensed Driver Almost Causes Collision, Flees from Deputy
K9 Enzo Demonstrates His Nose, Knows
After a Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy and another vehicle were almost struck in an intersection by a vehicle driven by a male who failed to yield, the driver fled after initially pulling over for the Deputy. K9 Enzo was used to locate the driver after he lost control, crashed, and fled on foot.
On November 20, 2018, at approximately 4:15 a.m., Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy Stan Kravtsov was traveling north on Greene St. near Mission. As he entered the intersection, with another vehicle next to him, the driver of a maroon Ford Taurus with no license plates, traveling south on Greene St., turned east in front of the Deputy, and the vehicle next to him, causing them to slam on their brakes to avoid a collision.
Deputy Kravtsov activated his emergency lights and turned in behind the Taurus to conduct a traffic stop. The driver, later identified as 20-year-old Hunter W. McKinney, pulled over in the 3200 block of E. Mission and stopped. When Deputy Kravtsov reached the area of the Taurus’ trunk, McKinney looked back and accelerated rapidly to the east. Deputy Kravtsov ran back toward his patrol car as he advised dispatch McKinney was fleeing.
Before he could get to his patrol car, Deputy Kravtsov observed McKinney cross from the far-right lane, into the inside lane, cutting off a Dodge Ram pickup. McKinney continued across the cement divider, causing the vehicle to get airborne in a shower of sparks, and across the oncoming lanes of travel. He hit the curb, on the north side of Mission, became airborne again causing another massive shower of sparks, crashed through a sign and into a temporary construction fence before colliding with the construction site trailer where he came to a stop.
McKinney exited the vehicle, climbed the fence, jumped onto the trailer’s roof and jumped off the other side into the fenced construction area. Deputy Kravtsov ordered McKinney to stop, but he continued to flee into the darkness of the construction area.
A perimeter was quickly established and multiple K9 warnings were given as Deputy Phil Pfeifer, and his partner K9 Enzo, responded to the scene. With the K9 warnings going unanswered, Deputy Pfeifer deployed K9 Enzo on a tracking leash. K9 Enzo tracked north through the construction area and over a 6-foot fence. The track continued to the north, approximately 50 yards, where K9 Enzo found McKinney hiding in a bush. With K9 Enzo still on his tracking lease, several commands for McKinney to show his hands were not immediately followed. Eventually, McKinney exited the bush but he still remained defiant and did not completely cooperate. He began to tense up and resist being placed in handcuffs and was taken to the ground where he still failed to fully comply. Deputy Kravtsov was finally able to take McKinney into custody without the use of strikes or further assistance by K9 Enzo.
McKinney, after being advised of and waiving his rights, said he was confused by the traffic signal but he turned anyway and knew he cutoff Deputy Kravtsov and the other vehicle. Although he knew a Deputy was pulling him over, he fled the traffic stop because he didn’t have a driver’s license and didn’t want to go to jail. He explained the Taurus belonged to his girlfriend and he decided to go for a drive while she was at work.
McKinney was provided medical treatment for cuts he received during his attempt to flee before being transported and booked into the Spokane County Jail for Attempting to Elude a Police Vehicle, a felony, and two misdemeanors, Hit and Run Unattended Property and Obstructing. He was also issued traffic infractions for No Valid Driver’s License and Failure to Yield/Obey a Traffic Control Signal.
Deputy Mark Gregory
Spokane County Sheriff’s Office
Spokane Valley Police Department
Public Information Officer