Full Notification

Police arrested a wanted suspect overnight for a litany of charges after she led officers on a vehicle pursuit, then fought with officers and a police dog before being taken into custody. On Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at about 1:23 a.m., an officer on routine patrol ran a routine registration check on a vehicle and discovered that there was an outstanding felony warrant (for assault with a deadly weapon) associated with the vehicle. The warrant was on a female, and the driver and solo occupant of the vehicle was a female. The officer conducted an enforcement stop on the vehicle, a blue 2013 Hyundai Sonata, on El Camino Real at Stanford Avenue. After initially complying with the officer’s commands, the suspect then drove away from the vehicle stop, heading westbound on Stanford Avenue. Officers pursued the vehicle as it then headed southbound on Junipero Serra Boulevard before turning west on Page Mill Road and going into the Palo Alto foothills. The pursuit ended in the 3200 block of Alexis Drive, where the roadway comes to a dead end. The suspect exited her car and began punching an officer. A second officer deployed their TASER at the suspect, who then fled on foot. A police canine apprehended the suspect after a short foot pursuit, and she struck the police dog as he was taking her into custody. The suspect received minor injuries as a result of the canine apprehension. She was treated at the scene by paramedics from the Palo Alto Fire Department, and taken to a local hospital as per standard procedures following a TASER application and canine apprehension. There were no injuries to the police dog or any officers. Police booked 34-year-old Tyechia Denise Payton of Thornton into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for felony evading, assault on a police officer and assault on a police dog (both felonies), and misdemeanor resisting arrest. They also booked her for two outstanding warrants out of the Fremont Police Department: the felony warrant associated with her vehicle (for assault with a deadly weapon), and a misdemeanor warrant for traffic offenses. Her booking photo is attached to this release; note that she made an obscene gesture at the time the photo was taken, so we have covered that portion of the image (note: the booking photo has been removed pursuant to AB994 as of November 2023). 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 [email protected] 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 www.bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or www.bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.