A 30-year-old resident of Port Angeles was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon after a confrontation with a deputy that concluded a two-day manhunt, officials with the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office confirmed.
Aaron J. Hatfield was detained around 12:21 p.m. on August 11, following a pursuit that began after a bystander spotted him in the Marsden Road area of Port Angeles. A second tip soon after placed him near South Brook Avenue’s 100 block, prompting a coordinated response involving sheriff’s deputies and city police officers.
While officers were en route, one deputy spotted Hatfield in the yard of a private home. Witnesses described how Hatfield sprinted directly toward the deputy and collided with him, sending both individuals to the ground. Neither sustained injuries in the impact.
Hatfield rose swiftly and headed south, drawing foot pursuit from responding officers. A deputy deployed a Taser, effectively incapacitating him and facilitating his arrest. During a routine search, officers discovered a fixed-blade knife on his person.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office noted Hatfield faces five charges: third-degree assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, residential burglary classified as domestic violence, assault violating a no-contact order (also domestic violence–designated), and third-degree malicious mischief under the domestic violence classification.
The manhunt began Monday, August 10, after deputies answered a call around 2:32 p.m. regarding a domestic disturbance at a South Bay View Avenue residence. According to officials, the caller reported that Hatfield had struck them, destroyed a Ring security camera using an axe, and shattered a cell phone before fleeing west on foot into nearby woods, armed with a knife.
County emergency alert services issued a public notice via Everbridge, covering the corridor south of Bay View Avenue between Monroe Road and Mount Pleasant Road. Sheriff’s deputies and Port Angeles police conducted ground searches Monday with support from a K9 unit and aerial surveillance using a drone, though they did not locate Hatfield at that time.
Officials acknowledged the Port Angeles Police Department’s collaboration throughout the operation, crediting the joint effort as key to Hatfield’s eventual apprehension.