A 48-year-old Orchards man was arrested Monday afternoon after Clark County Sheriff's deputies used a Grappler device to stop his car on NE 99th Street, then spent more than an hour talking him out of the vehicle following a domestic disturbance at his mother's home. Aaron Hetland surrendered around 6:20 p.m. after injuring himself with a knife during the standoff, and paramedics took him to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The incident began around 2:30 p.m. in the Orchards neighborhood near the 11200 block of Northeast 107th Street, according to KPTV. Deputies responded to investigate property damage inside a home where Hetland lives with his mother, but he drove away before they arrived. Roughly an hour and 15 minutes later, his mother called 911 again after he returned and drove into the driveway, hitting the garage door with the car before backing out to flee as deputies closed in.
Grappler Device Halts Car Near NE 99th Street
Clark County deputies spotted Hetland driving along Northeast 99th Street and deployed a Grappler device near the 10500 block to stop the car, per the station's report. The tool launches a spring-loaded yellow nylon net from a patrol car's front bumper to entangle a fleeing vehicle's rear wheel and axle, physically tethering it within seconds, according to iHeart. The Clark County Sheriff's Office equipped 25 patrol vehicles with the device in February 2025, making it the first agency in Southwest Washington and the third statewide to deploy the technology.
Once the car was immobilized, deputies surrounded it, but Hetland refused orders to get out and resisted arrest for more than an hour. Law enforcement negotiators used a drone and less-lethal tools during the standoff, drawing on tactical resources the sheriff's office has built up over years. The agency has operated an active drone unit since 2017, giving commanders overhead intelligence during standoffs without placing deputies in direct danger, according to LEDA.
Negotiators Talk Hetland Out of the Car
The sheriff's office also maintains a dedicated Crisis Negotiation Team trained in de-escalation and phone rapport-building specifically to resolve barricade situations peacefully, per the Clark County Sheriff's Office. That kind of coordinated response has become part of the agency's routine playbook in Clark County. Just weeks earlier, deputies used the same Grappler technology on State Route 503 in Battle Ground to stop a driver going up to 80 mph into oncoming traffic during a mental health crisis, a case The Reflector reported ended with the driver hospitalized for evaluation, an incident Hoodline detailed at the time.
Hetland eventually exited the car around 6:20 p.m., ending the standoff. He was booked into the Clark County Jail on suspicion of domestic violence malicious mischief, trying to run from police, and resisting arrest.
What the Charges Could Mean
Under Washington law, property damage is charged as malicious mischief, and an offense against a family or household member may carry a domestic-violence designation and a no-contact order, according to Beckwith DV Law. Attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle is a Class C felony in Washington, carrying up to five years in prison, substantial fines, and license revocation, per the Law Office of Erin Bradley McAleer. Resisting arrest, meanwhile, is a misdemeanor under state law carrying up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, according to John T Law.
Orchards is an unincorporated census-designated place in Clark County with a population of 27,729 as of the 2020 census, and it has no municipal police department of its own — meaning the Clark County Sheriff's Office is the sole primary responder for calls like Monday's. It's a dynamic that has shaped several recent high-risk incidents across the unincorporated community, underscoring how deputies alone carry the load for both routine patrols and volatile standoffs in the area.
