A registered sex offender is behind bars in Pierce County after concerned neighbors called 911, in a case that law enforcement is using to repeat its familiar reminder to report suspicious behavior. The man, identified as 31-year-old Cameron George of Port Angeles, was booked into the Pierce County Jail following the calls.
According to deputies, multiple callers at an apartment complex reported that George was shirtless and lurking on the property, and that he was allegedly trying to get children to play with him. Those reports prompted Pierce County Sheriff's deputies to respond and make contact with him.
Deputies approached George on June 7 at around 6:30pm. Authorities say he has a history in Clallam County that includes domestic violence and resisting arrest. An officer explained that the stop was prompted by several callers at the complex raising concerns about his behavior.
George denied any wrongdoing during the encounter. He insisted he was not doing anything wrong, said he had not entered any area designated for those 16 or younger, and claimed he had no restrictions regarding schools or parks.
When deputies told him they were going to detain him while they investigated his history, George refused to get into the patrol car. He repeatedly demanded to be read his Miranda rights and insisted he was only being detained rather than arrested, and a struggle followed in which he used his legs to try to keep the deputies at bay.
He was eventually placed in the patrol car, read his rights and taken to jail. Pierce County prosecutors charged him with obstructing a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest, rather than with anything tied directly to the neighbors' reports about his conduct at the complex.
Clallam County prosecutors said George's underlying sex offense was committed in another state and that he was registered in Washington as required by law. Investigators credited the neighbors' 911 calls with bringing him to deputies' attention, pointing to the case as an example of why residents are urged to report anything that seems out of place.