Calif. Man Arrested After Redmond DUII Pursuit

A drunk driver from California ran several stop signs in Redmond and drove onto a sidewalk, then led police on a pursuit Tuesday night, sideswiping a patrol car before being stopped and taken into custody, deputies said.

Deschutes County sheriff?s deputies, Redmond police and Oregon State Police troopers responded around 8:30 p.m. to Highway 97 near Veterans Way, said sheriff?s Sgt. Mark Eggert.

A citizen had reported the driver of a 1999 Oldsmobile Aurora was driving erratically, running several stop signs and driving onto a sidewalk, Eggert said.

A responding deputy found the car headed south on South Canal Boulevard near SW Elkhorn Avenue. The deputy turned his patrol car around and caught up to the car on South Canal near McVey Avenue, Eggert said.

At one point, the car driven by Jeffrey Paul Thompson, 37, of Rancho Cordova, Calif., did stop for a short time, Eggert said. But Thompson, driving alone, turned his car around and drove past the deputy, at which point he sideswiped the patrol car, causing minor damage to it, the sergeant said.

A Redmond officer was able to deploy ?spike strips? and flatten two of the car?s tires, but the pursuit continued north on Canal to Quarry Avenue, where the driver headed east toward Highway 97, Eggert said.

At that point, a sheriff?s deputy was able to stop Thompson?s car using a PIT (Pursuit Immobilizing Technique) maneuver where the car is bumped or nudged, forcing it to turn sideways and stop the chase, Eggert said.

Once the car was stopped, deputies and officers were able to take Thompson into custody, though he physically resisted, Eggert said.

It was not a high-speed pursuit: Eggert said they reached speeds of about 45 mph over the 1 1/2 miles before he was arrested.

Thompson received minor injuries and was evaluated at the scene by medics, then taken to the county jail in Bend. He remained there Wednesday morning on $27,500 bail, facing charges of DUII, attempt to elude a police officer, reckless driving, recklessly endangering another, resisting arrest and failure to perform the duties of a driver (hit and run).