Centralia Police Use ‘PIT Maneuver,’ Taser to End Vehicle Pursuit

A Centralia Police sergeant used both a PIT maneuver and a Taser Monday evening to arrest a man who has since been charged with failure to obey a law enforcement officer. 

A PIT maneuver stands for “pursuit intervention technique,” and it refers to an officer driving into the rear panel of a vehicle to force it sideways suddenly. 

The man, Alexzander Orchard, 28, of Centralia, was also charged with unlawful imprisonment for allegedly refusing to let a passenger out of the vehicle as well as possession of a controlled substance, heroin. 

Sgt. Carl Buster with the Centralia Police Department was at the Motel 6 in the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue around 6 p.m. on Feb. 1 to receive a briefing on a Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) case when he saw a woman associated from the investigation walk away from the hotel, according to Lewis County Superior Court documents. 

At the same time, he saw a vehicle, driven by Orchard, with a loud exhaust enter the hotel parking lot and circle several times. Suspecting the exhaust had been modified, Buster initiated a traffic stop. Orchard indicated he had no driver’s license and drove off, according to court documents. 

Buster pursued with lights and sirens activated and followed Orchard into Thurston County. Orchard was reportedly “traveling at slightly above the posted speed limit and even stopped for red lights along the way,” according to court documents. 

Buster ultimately used a PIT maneuver to force Orchard to stop. Orchard walked away from the vehicle after the maneuver forced his vehicle to stop, according to court documents, and “because of his confrontational demeanor, Sgt. Buster deployed his Taser and was able to place Orchard under arrest.” 

Another officer spoke to the vehicle’s passenger, who stated that “she had repeatedly asked to be let out of the vehicle, but Orchard would not stop.” Officers and a K9 searched the vehicle and found a backpack of syringes, several of which “had a black liquid which was believed to be heroin,” along with men’s clothing and a plastic bag of methamphetamine. 

Orchard was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 9:45 p.m. on Feb. 1 and is currently being held on a $100,000 bail. 

“He’s a severe failure to appear risk,” said Judge J. Andrew Toynbee as explanation for approving the state’s request for the $100,000 bail at Orchard’s preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday. Orchard has been convicted of four felony convictions in the past two years and had at least five active warrants out for his arrest as of Feb. 1. 

Orchard, appearing in court via video from the jail for his preliminary hearing, denied the allegations. He repeatedly told the court, “I didn’t commit this. I did not do this,” and asked if the charges would lead to prison time. Judge Toybee advised him to speak to his attorney. 

The maximum penalty for Orchard’s most-serious charge — unlawful imprisonment, a Class C felony — is five years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. 

Possession of a controlled substance, also a Class C felony, carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a fine between $1,000 and $10,000; and failure to obey a law enforcement officer, a misdemeanor, carries a maximum penalty of 90 days jail time and a $1,000 fine.