Man carjacks Washington State Patrol car after shoving lieutenant to the ground on Christmas Day, gets arrested after an intense police pursuit

A rather bizarre incident got captured on camera on Christmas Day, when a suspect stole a Washington State Patrol (WSP) car. 

According to a video obtained by TMZ, an individual is seen crossing a busy Interstate-5 near Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood around noon. The man appears to signal an oncoming Ford Explorer SUV, driven by a WSP lieutenant, to stop. 

Moments after the patrol vehicle stops, the person approaches the driver's side door and pulls the female officer out and pushes her towards the pavement. The suspect gets behind the wheel. The Washington State Patrol lieutenant gets back on her feet and tries to unlock the door, but to no avail. The suspect drives off within seconds. 

According to TMZ, WSP troopers reportedly chased the stolen SUV through Snohomish County. The Washington State Patrol personnel were able to pin and stop the car in Lynnwood with a PIT (precision immobilization technique) maneuver. The officials took the person into custody, while no injuries or damage to public property were reported. 

2/2. Thankfully no injuries.

— Trooper Rick Johnson (@wspd2pio) December 25, 2025

Trooper Rick Johnson, WSP District 2 Public Information Officer for King County, shared an update of the incident on X with an image of a damaged patrol SUV and wrote: 

“This is the end of a pursuit that started NB 5 at 85th. A WSP Lieutenant contacted a pedestrian that was running across the freeway. The pedestrian pushed her down and stole the patrol vehicle. A pursuit ensued and finally came to an end SB I-5 in Lynnwood. Thankfully no injuries.”

The clip capturing the car theft later made its way to social media, sparking reactions from netizens. Read on to learn what social media users said about the WSP carjacking incident. 

Internet reacts after video of Washington State Patrol SUV getting stolen goes viral

The bizarre carjacking incident on the I-5 highway in Seattle garnered a plethora of reactions on X. @Brick_Suit, a conservative X account with over 318,000 followers, posted the video released by TMZ and wrote: 

“Seattle: Man yanks female police officer out of her car, gets in, and drives off. I can't even.” 

“maybe we're all just NPCs in this guy's GTA,” a user joked about the Grand Theft Auto-styled carjacking. 

“Does she know how car door locks work?,” another user sarcastically asked. 

“I love how she yanks on the handle of the clearly locked door like 6 times,” one user observed. 

“In Seattle, that's called public transportation…,” another one wrote. 

this is literally the most seattle police thing i have ever seen lmfaoooooo

— A̸̬͌a̶͛͜r̸̟͗ō̵̟ň̷͎ ̵̬̋B̸̧̌ò̴̱w̷̤̎ĺ̵͓ě̶̜y̸̺͛ (@TheAaronBowley) December 26, 2025

A user added: 

“this is literally the most seattle police thing i have ever seen lmfaoooooo” 

Another user tweeted: 

“Kinda smooth Def someone with a history of playing GTA”

Washington State Patrol has not revealed the identity of the lieutenant or the suspect. Trooper Rick Johnson told TMZ that the female lieutenant was not injured and will not be reprimanded.