State v. Parker

Petitioner appeals from a conviction of felony flight from a police officer, RCW 46.61.024. He claims that the trial court erred in refusing to give his proposed instruction on the lesser included offense of misdemeanor reckless driving, and that the Court of Appeals erred in finding such error harmless. We agree and reverse.

On May 28, 1980, at approximately 11:30 p.m., two marked Seattle police cars, with activated emergency signals, began pursuing Patrick Olin Parker through the streets of Seattle. Parker traveled through medium-density traffic at speeds up to 80 m.p.h., ran through several…