Naked man arrested after bizarre rampage near Swedish Hospital
SEATTLE - A man is in custody after going on a bizarre rampage overnight around Swedish Hospital's First Hill campus, ramming vehicles with a pickup truck, smashing windows, blasting loud music and spray-painting a car's windows while naked, police said.
Drugs were believed to be a factor in the incident, which ended hours later following a standoff with a SWAT team.
The drama began at around 12:30 a.m. Monday as officers responded to a report of a possible impaired driver near Boren Avenue and Cherry Street, said Detective Mark Jamieson of the Seattle police.
As officers were responding to that incident, security personnel from Swedish Hospital reported that an erratically driven white pickup truck had somehow gained entry into the secured parking garage in the 1100 block of Madison Street.
The driver of the pickup reportedly rammed an exit gate, struck a parked car on the street, and then re-entered the parking garage. The pickup was recently reported as stolen.
The driver of the stolen truck then struck two other vehicles inside the garage, and responding officers found the suspect driving erratically in circles and up and down the exit ramps inside the garage, Jamieson said.
Officers deployed spike strips inside the garage in an attempt to stop him. The truck’s tires were flattened, but the suspect just kept driving around.
The suspect eventually parked the truck and turned up the stereo. Officers could see that the man was naked.
The suspect then grabbed a hammer and smashed out the windows of another vehicle inside the garage. He then jumped in that vehicle and spray-painted the windows in an effort to conceal himself, Jamieson said.
A SWAT team and police negotiators responded and attempted to talk with the suspect, but he ignored them.
At one point the suspect went back to the stolen pickup and tried to flee, but SWAT team officers used their vehicles to block the truck.
Officers finally caught the man outside of the truck at 4 a.m. They stunned him with a Taser and placed him under arrest.
The 33-year-old suspect was taken to the hospital and then later booked into the King County Jail for investigation of burglary, auto theft, possession of stolen property, malicious mischief, DUI and hit-and-run.
The incident remains under investigation, Jamieson said.
