Crime and Courts

Missoula PD nab woman wanted for running over officer

Posted: Jan 8, 2013 7:28 AM by Cristy Aranguiz
Updated: Jan 8, 2013 7:31 AM

MISSOULA - Missoula Police have apprehended the woman wanted for running over an officer during a traffic stop late Monday night, taking her into custody without incident just before 1 a.m.

MPD, Missoula County Sheriff's deputies and Montana Highway Patrol troopers had been on the lookout for suspect Dawnette Eaton for several hours.

Police Chief Mark Muir said Eaton had been stopped at the McDonald's on East Broadway around 9 p.m. She was wanted on outstanding warrants and under suspicion for being involved in local drug trafficking. Muir says while the unnamed female officer was talking on the driver's side of the car, Eaton gunned the car and took off, dragging the officer underneath. A second officer fired off a single shot, but Eaton escaped.

That started a search that lasted for over three and half hours.

MPD officers found Eaton's red Pontiac near the Madison Street Bridge off East Front Street, and located a blood trail in the area. That began a search of the neighborhood as officers checked homes in the area and used dogs to try and track Eaton.

The break came around 12:30 when officers followed a tip that led them to an apartment off Hillview Way. That's where they found Eaton, and also apprehended others who were taken into custody.

Eaton was on a stretcher as she was taken to a waiting ambulance but there were no indications she had been seriously injured. She was taken to the hospital for treatment. Police were still checking on Eaton's exact age and hometown, but she was known to have some time in Missoula.

Muir says the officer who was drug under the car suffered a broken hip, as well as a leg fracture and other bumps and bruises and is going to be fine. The officer who fired the single shot was uninjured.

The Missoula County Sheriff's Office will be heading up the investigation, which is routine when there is an officer involved shooting. MHP technicians were helping to take measurements and survey the scene of the assault and shooting.