It just before 1 am Saturday morning when Officer Anh Hoang heard several loud bangs, like gunshots, as he was patrolling near Occidental Avenue and Yesler Way.
As Officer Hoang drove toward the noises, he saw panicked people running through the streets.
Expecting to find a gunman running through Pioneer Square, Officer Hoang drove toward 2nd Avenue, where spotted a man casually walking down the street. The man then tossed something into the air, and the airborne object sparked and went boom.
The man spotted Officer Hoang and took off running, but officers chased the man through an alley and caught up to him a parking lot.
The man apologized and told officers he had already set off all of his fireworks. So, of course, officers found more firecrackers hidden inside the man’s backpack.
Officers arrested the man for reckless endangerment and booked him into the King County Jail.