SEATTLE –Today the Seattle Police Department honored New York actor Peter Rini for his heroic actions on Monday, February 8th when he helped to apprehend a driver who hit two cars, both occupied, while driving a stolen van.
Mr. Rini was walking near 19th Avenue East and East Republican Street on Monday at approximately 11:46 a.m. when he noticed a white van colliding with a pair of cars and heard the female driver of one vehicle scream after being struck. The driver then hit a telephone pole and left the vehicle. Although the collision and the subsequent actions of the suspect were happening instantaneously, Mr. Rini was immediately able to put together what was unfolding and had the presence of mind to recognize that the driver of the white van was trying to make his getaway. As the suspect tried to flee on foot, Mr. Rini tackled the suspect to the ground and subdued him until the officers arrived.
Mr. Rini clearly acted out of instinct and goodwill. Had it not been for Mr. Rini’s actions the arriving officers would have had to eventually set up delayed containment in the neighborhood and actively searched for the suspect on foot, making it difficult at best to find the suspect in this densely populated area of Capitol Hill.