Naked man leads police on chase at Green Lake
Sep 4, 2012, 4:00 PM | Updated: Sep 5, 2012, 6:03 pm
A man led police on a chase for nearly two hours as he took a naked swim in Green Lake to avoid arrest for an assault that occurred at the park. (Brandi Kruse/97.3 KIRO FM)
(Brandi Kruse/97.3 KIRO FM)
A naked man who led police on a chase around Green Lake Tuesday afternoon waived his appearance at bail hearing, Tuesday.
Tyler K. Cunningham, 32, was booked into the King County Jail early Wednesday morning for assault.
Police say Cunningham tackled two teenaged siblings in Green Lake Park just before 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. The 19-year-old man and 16-year-old girl suffered minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital by their father.
When police responded to the scene, Cunningham allegedly threw his sleeping bag at officers and jumped into the lake.
At some point he removed all of his clothes.
Seattle Police Harbor Patrol responded to the scene and attempted to coax the man out of the water. At one point, he swam under a Harbor Patrol boat.
The chase eventually led police to Duck Island, a small piece of land just off the west shore of the lake.
Officers began to actively chase Cunningham around the tiny island. After 40 to 50 minutes, police threw him a blanket. Shortly before 6 p.m., they were able to tackle their suspect and bring him into custody.
During the two-hour ordeal, onlookers had gathered on the nearby shore. A 12-year-old boy described the situation as “disturbing.”
“I thought it was kind of scarring because he was naked and it was kind of gross,” he said.
Two friends, Brent Loya and Tristan Welch, both 25, came to the lake to meet “some sweet ladies.” Instead, the pair ended up watching the chase.
“A naked man police chase is up there in my books,” Loya said.
“It closes out a good Labor Day weekend, I have to say,” Welch added.
