Cop went 75 mph in a 25 zone with no lights in unauthorized pursuit

Ofc. Ernest Cleave sped through a solid red light approaching at speeds of around 50 mph without a lawful basis for pursuing a stolen vehicle

A still from the in-car video of Ofc. Ernest Cleaves shows the stolen vehicle (left) backing over the planter and onto Rainier S, where it collided with Cleaves.

A Seattle police officer was reprimanded for driving three times the speed limit without emergency lights and blazing through a solid red light at 50 mph, according to a recently released disciplinary report. Ofc. Ernest Cleaves initiated the pursuit without authorization after a stolen SUV backed into him and drove away.

On Nov. 13, 2023, Cleaves was one of several officers dispatched to a call about a vehicle stolen from in front of the owner’s house. Using a built-in tracker, Seattle police located the SUV at the Jack in the Box on South Rainier and officers were sent to surround it.

When Cleaves pulled up, the vehicle was in the drive-thru. The driver backed out of over a planter, collided with Cleaves, and fled the scene. Without activating his lights or sirens, Cleaves began pursuing the SUV up South Rainier, accelerating to around 50 mph through a solid red light at 51st St.

Ofc. Cleaves’ in-car video shows his approach to a red light at the intersection of 51st and Rainier S.

GPS data shows Cleaves reached 75 mph before his commander called off the pursuit, which lasted under 30 seconds.

Cleaves told the Office of Police Accountability that the pursuit was justified because he considered the collision to be an intentional assault on him. He argued that he was only trying to keep pace with the vehicle while waiting for supervisor approval.

But the OPA was unconvinced. Assuming it was intentional, the collision was, at most, third-degree assault on a police officer, which didn’t qualify as a violent offense defined by state law. The driver wasn’t a significant “imminent threat of death or serious physical injury to others,” so he was ineligible for pursuit under SPD policy and state law at the time.

Furthermore, Cleaves knew that the SUV was being electronically tracked and monitored by a helicopter. His training records also show that Cleaves hadn’t completed an emergency vehicle certification in the last two years, so he would not be qualified to pursue it under any circumstances. His most recent training was in 2020.

Cleaves had no prior sustained complaints and was issued a written reprimand. However, he previously received counseling for a driving issue in 2022, and had one complaint about him pulling a gun on an arrestee in a hospital bathroom that was ruled inconclusive.

Ernest Cleaves made $176,252 in 2023, $60,897 of which was overtime.