Man Decides He "Wants to Fight the Big Boys" and Police Respond

Normally when the Kennewick Police pull someone over for a traffic stop, it's pretty routine and brief but not this time. A man during a traffic stop near Kennewick High School decided to throw down with KPD stating he "wanted to fight the big boys", nevertheless, KPD responded in kind.

The incident was posted on the Kennewick Police Department's Facebook page and here's how it went down:

Each year the Kennewick Police Department conducts over 11,000 vehicle stops. The majority of these are for traffic violations but they also include stops that are made as part of criminal activity.

Anytime an officer makes a vehicle stop he or she has limited information and, in order to make everyone safe, has to react to any actions taken by the driver. Therefore, the actions of the driver are very important. We believe education is an important piece to a safe community. If stopped by an officer there are some actions you can take to help make the encounter safer. Some key things remember are; it’s best to roll down your window, always keep your hands visible and stay in your vehicle. If it’s dark outside you may consider turning on your dome light. When people exit their vehicles and start walking toward the officer it causes great alarm to the officer and will escalate the situation. If for some reason, you make a mistake and exit the vehicle please follow the directions of the officer.

Don’t do what 23-year-old Jose Gomez did last week. Officer Leander observed Gomez driving recklessly near Kennewick High School. When Officer Leander stopped the vehicle, Gomez exited the vehicle and began walking back towards the officer. Officer Leander told Gomez to stop multiple times and return to his vehicle. Instead of following directions, Gomez began yelling at Officer Leander and continued to advance while shoving his hands in his pockets. For his safety, Officer Leander grabbed Gomez, who began struggling, and escorted Gomez to the ground to control him and wait for other officers to arrive. Gomez was later taken into custody. Gomez told officers he didn’t follow commands because “I wanted to be a tough ass. “ When asked why was he struggling with the Officer, Gomez replied, “I wanted to fight with the big boys!”

Why do we highlight this? Officers never know what is going to occur during a traffic stop. Often enforcement action like a ticket is brief and is designed to address the safety concern. Sometimes education is all that’s needed. The safety of everyone involved becomes a priority once an individual decides to ignore directions and exhibits behavior that raises suspicion of other criminal activity. Many of these dangerous encounters will never occur because in the majority of contacts those stopped are pleasant, follow directions, and want to work with us. Unfortunately, your officers don’t know what situation they are walking into and at the end of the day, we want everyone to go home safely.

I guess it's case closed on this traffic stop and thanks again to the Kennewick Police Department for keeping our streets safe.