Why a Tri-Cities man with many knives faces dozens of charges after stealing a patrol car

A Tri-Cities man is facing 38 charges after a dangerous high-speed chase in a stolen police car.

Kennewick police first came into contact with Christoffer Noel Pearson several hours before the Monday night pursuit, according to Benton County court documents.

Around 1 p.m. Monday, dispatchers say the 39-year-old began calling 911 and screaming at dispatchers and making homicidal threats.

This continued for several hours, leading officers to try talking with him at an apartment on the 1200 block of South Newport Street just after 6 p.m., according to the documents.

When officers arrived Pearson refused to come outside. He spoke to officers through the window and was hitting the blinds while talking to them, officers said.

Officers told Pearson they were going to cite him with misusing 911, but he refused to come out. As officers were leaving, one saw Pearson allegedly make a throat-cutting motion at the officers.

Later confrontation

About two hours later, someone called authorities because Pearson was breaking windows inside the apartment. He then left the building and began walking down 10th Avenue, cussing at passersby and holding multiple items in his hands.

When officers arrived, they realized the items were knives.

He began threatening officers with the knives, first swinging them and then throwing them at police. He also stabbed and slashed the hood of a patrol car and threw two more knives at officers.

At the same time, officers were giving Pearson commands to drop the weapons and they were backing up to create space between them. As Pearson came around another patrol car, still holding a knife, he allegedly reached into the open window and opened the door. He jumped in and drove off.

Several patrol vehicles were reportedly no longer drivable, but one officer who talked with Pearson earlier in the day was able to follow him.

Pearson drove to 10th Avenue, taking it west all the way to South Steptoe Street, reaching speeds of up to 90 mph and at times driving into oncoming traffic, said investigators. Officers from across the Tri-Cities joined the chase.

Once Pearson got to Steptoe, he went south through a construction zone, and got onto the highway and headed to the Highway 240 bypass in Richland before heading north.

A Pasco officer who had been authorized to perform a PIT maneuver was able to successfully bumpb the vehicle Pearson was driving near Stevens Street.

A PIT maneuver, which stands for precision immobilization technique, is when an officer uses a vehicle to hit the suspect vehicle in a way that causes them to spin out. It’s often used to end chases.

Pearson tried to drive away after spinning out, hitting several other patrol vehicles in the process, but stopped a short distance away near the Atkins building at 2345 Stevens Dr. in Richland.

He then got out of the car with his hands up, but started walking away from officers. At one point he put his hands down as if he were going to run, and reached toward his mid-section, according to the documents.

A K-9 police dog was released, and Pearson was taken into custody.

The vehicle he had allegedly stolen had extensive interior damage that officers believe came from Pearson stabbing the seats and the onboard computer.

He was transported to a local hospital to be treated for the dog bite, before being booked into the Benton County jail about 11 p.m. Monday.

Mental health and drugs

Pearson allegedly told officers he had taken marijuana, fentanyl and heroin to deal with pain, telling officers the “narcotics alone was not strong enough for him.”

At the hospital officers said Pearson was very uncooperative, with officers describing him as cycling between being very quiet and screaming at anyone who looked in his direction.

Pearson also allegedly told officers at the hospital that when he got out of jail, he would “seek out any law enforcement officer to kill them.”

Pearson is facing felony charges for three counts of second-degree assault, two counts of malicious mischief, auto theft, attempting to elude and first-degree robbery.

His misdemeanor charges include obstructing law enforcement, resisting arrest, DUI and 27 counts of misusing the 911 system.

Pearson was scheduled to appear in Benton County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon, but refused to come out of his jail cell, prosecutors told Court Commissioner Megan Whitmire.

They said he may also be facing additional charges related to the threats made at the hospital, but as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, those had not been filed. A court-appointed defense attorney told Whitmire there was a possible concern about Pearson’s mental health.

Court documents show Pearson has an extensive juvenile record, and has had several misdemeanor charges in Benton and Franklin county District Courts.

A 2014 Benton County charge for assaulting a police officer was dismissed after about a year of court proceedings that ended with Pearson being declared incompetent after two court-ordered evaluation periods and a mandatory medication order, according to court records.