Woman Leads Police on Pursuit, Assaults Officer & K-9, Then Flips Off Camera

At around 1:23 a.m. on Wednesday, June 27, 2018, officers did a random registration check on a vehicle and learned that the vehicle was associated with a woman who had a felony warrant for an assault with a deadly weapon. The female driving the vehicle, from what the officer could see, matched the suspect description. The officer attempted to stop the blue 2013 Hyundai Sonata on El Camino Real near Stanford Avenue. The female subject pulled over then drove away heading westbound on Stanford Avenue. The officer pursued several miles until the subject stopped where the road dead-ended in the 3200 block of Alexis Drive.

The officer approached the woman as she exited her vehicle. She walked in the officer’s direction and began punching the officer who then deployed a taser at the suspect. The female suspect fled on foot. The officer sent the police dog to go after the woman. As the dog apprehended the woman, she began to also strike the dog. The suspect, later identified as Tyechia Denise Payton, 34, was treated at the scene for minor bite injuries from the canine as he apprehended her. She was then taken to the hospital to be cleared, which is standard procedure when a taser and/or canine apprehension is used. The dog and officer were both uninjured as a result of the incident.

Payton was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for evading, assault on a police officer, and assault on a police dog. In addition to the new charges stemming from the incident, Payton was also booked for two outstanding warrants from the Fremont Police Department including assault with a deadly weapon, as well as warrants resulting from traffic offenses. During the booking photo, Payton flipped off the camera.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through our free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.