Bellevue police release video of arrest during I-90 closure

On Wednesday, the Bellevue Police Department (BPD) released an officer’s body camera video in which police arrested a man they believed was attempting to detonate an explosive device on Interstate 90 (I-90).

Sokphana Soeung, 42, took Bellevue police and Washington State Patrol officers on a low-speed chase along I-90 last Saturday morning.

More details: Police arrest man accused of making threats with explosive device, blocking I-90

When Soeung was finally stopped near the Mercer Island Way exit, police said he tried to flee and as officers approached, he turned toward them with something in both hands.

“As you can see in the video, he turns toward the officers and it looks like he has something in both hands, it looks like he’s either trying to light something on fire or flick something,” BPD said -Chief Wendell Shirley told KIRO Newsradio. “It’s unclear.”

You can watch the video of the arrest below:

After the shooting, officers learned that Soeung was carrying a homemade explosive device consisting of a tennis ball and about five grams of explosives. Luckily, the police managed to crack down on Soeung and take him into custody before he could cause any harm.

“If the device had gone off, not only would he likely have injured or killed himself, but he likely would have injured or killed multiple police officers,” Shirley said.

Police aren’t sure where Soeung got the explosives or if he was planning something sinister. However, police learned that the car he was driving was stolen and they found two more explosives inside.

“We have no idea why they had them,” Shirley said. “I’m actually glad we were able to take them into custody because they could have used them somewhere else, someplace else, and we might not have been there to stop that.”

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Soeung was charged Wednesday with five felonies related to the incident: second-degree assault with a deadly weapon enhancement, possession of an explosive device, possession of an incendiary device, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle and possession of a stolen vehicle.

Soeung’s bail is set at $750,000. His arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 30 at 10 a.m

James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more stories from James here. Keep following James Xor send him an email here.

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