Hwy. 97 pursuit of DUII suspect ends with ‘Stop Sticks,’ PIT maneuver — and K-9 Ronin’s bite
Combative Salem man, 43, jailed on several charges
La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) – Bend police and Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies pursued and tried to pull over a suspected drunken driver on Highway 97 early Tuesday morning, but it took “Stop Sticks,” a pursuit intervention tactic and the bite of DCSO K-9 Ronin to stop and arrest the combative Salem man.
Deputies were told around 4 a.m. that Bend police were trying to stop the suspected DUII driver, said sheriff’s Sergeant Jayson Jones. The driver of the SUV refused to stop, but officers terminated a brief pursuit and passed along the description of the 1998 Toyota RAV 4 and license plate on to other law enforcement in the area.
Just before 4:30 a.m., a deputy on Highway 97 near Vandevert Road spotted the SUV heading south on the highway without headlights, Janes said. Due to the earlier pursuit, the deputy asked another deputy to set up Stop Sticks (also called spike strips) south of the location.
The deputy then turned on his lights and siren and tried to stop the driver, but he continued on at about 40 mph. The Stop Sticks, deployed in the area of La Pine State Rec Road, deflated one rear tire< Janes said.
Deputies continued their pursuit, due to minimal early-morning traffic on the highway, and discontinued the chase as the driver entered La Pine still able to observe from a distance.
The driver eventually made a U-turn on the highway at the south end of La Pine. As the now-northbound vehicle was in the area of Highway 97 and Burgess Road, a deputy used the Pursuit Intervention Technique, also known as the PIT maneuver, in which a pursuing car can force a fleeing car to turn sideways abruptly, lose control and stop.
Once the SUV stopped, the 43-year-old Salem driver got out and ran into a wooded area to the west, Janes said.
K-9 Ronin and his partner, Deputy Michael Mangin, began tracking the driver, who was found a short distance away. Janes said the man refused to comply with the deputy’s commands, and “Ronin ultimately bit (him) in order to get control of him.” The driver continued to resist attempts to take him into custody.
The driver was taken to St. Charles Bend for an evaluation, then taken to the county jail and lodged on several charges, including felony DUII, felony and misdemeanor attempt to elude, felony driving with a suspended license, reckless driving, reckless endangering, felon in possession of a restricted weapon, resisting arrest – and attempted assault on a laws enforcement animal.
