BREMERTON, WA — Most police shifts involve traffic stops and paperwork, but officers in Bremerton recently proved that sometimes the job requires a bit of arboriculture and a call to a former criminal.
What started as a routine call for an abandoned vehicle blocking a roadway quickly spiraled into one of the most bizarre series of events the Bremerton Police Department has seen this year.
The Woman in the Tree
Officers were dispatched to investigate a 1994 Honda Accord parked squarely in the middle of a road, creating a traffic hazard. A quick records check revealed the vehicle’s owner had an outstanding felony warrant. Choosing to play it safe, officers set up a perimeter and waited.
Soon after, a woman associated with the car returned. Upon spotting the uniforms, she didn’t stick around to chat—she bolted down a hillside and vanished into the brush. When officers finally caught up to her, they didn’t find her hiding in the bushes. Instead, they looked up to find her perched 10 feet high in a tree.
When ordered to come down, the suspect offered a seasonally appropriate, if not entirely believable, excuse: she claimed she was simply “harvesting moss for Easter.” She was taken into custody on her outstanding warrant without further incident, but the police’s problems were just beginning.
An Unusual ‘Phone-a-Friend’
With the “moss harvester” in jail, the ’94 Accord was still dead-center in the road. Rather than waiting hours for a tow truck, one officer decided to get creative.
The officer recalled a contact he had spoken with just the day before—a man who, in a previous life, was an expert at starting cars without keys. Now reformed and gainfully employed, the former car thief agreed to help the law. In a scene straight out of a movie, the man walked the officer through a step-by-step “hotwiring” tutorial over the phone. Moments later, the engine roared to life, and the car was safely moved to the shoulder.
A Weekend of Chaos
The tree incident was just the tip of the iceberg for a wild week in Bremerton. The department’s weekly recap highlighted several other high-octane encounters:
- The Sleeping Driver: Officers found two people passed out in a car that was still in “drive.” When woken up, the driver sped over spike strips before being arrested with a blood-alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit.
- “Don’t Spike My Car, Bro”: During a pursuit, a confrontational driver yelled at officers not to use spike strips on his vehicle while simultaneously refusing to pull over. He was eventually apprehended after a foot chase at an apartment complex.
- The Unfiltered Girlfriend: In a separate warrant sweep, a suspect’s attempt to hide failed miserably when his own girlfriend pointed directly at him and told officers, “He’s right here.”
Why No Mugshots?
While many readers asked for photos of the “moss harvester,” Bremerton Police clarified that Washington State law and a 1999 Supreme Court ruling generally prohibit the release of booking photos unless they serve a specific law enforcement purpose.
The department noted that while the week was filled with strange excuses and “Easter moss,” it highlights the unpredictable nature of local law enforcement—where one minute you’re a peace officer, and the next, you’re a tree-side negotiator.
What’s the strangest excuse you’ve ever heard (or used) to get out of trouble? Let us know in the comments!
