Low speed chase ends painfully for local man

January 4, 2023

A report of a reckless driver at about 7:51 p.m. Tuesday led to a low-speed chase involving a white SUV-type vehicle and as many as four Bonners Ferry Police vehicles making an extended tour of the city as the driver made about six circuits of Main Street from the area of Super 1 to the North Side as well as a few side trips through residential areas. Officers finally stopped the vehicle and then the driver on Highway 95 in the area of Alderson Lane.

Ian Mason, Bonners Ferry, born in 1974, is charged with felony eluding and possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, resisting arrest and DUI, all misdemeanors.

Officers on duty recognized the vehicle on hearing the description, Assistant Bonners Ferry Police Chief Marty Ryan said, as they've had multiple contacts with the driver, who has a tendency for drug use and irrational behavior. Moments later, the white vehicle passed in front of an officer and was pulled over. The driver, however, refused to follow orders and soon drove off, setting off a sirens-blaring chase that once or twice reached 40 miles-per-hour but stayed mostly at a more placid 30 mph.

Sometimes with headlights on, sometimes off, the white rig meandered up and down through town. Finally, spike strips were deployed on Highway 95 near Alderson Lane, flattening multiple tires but not ending the chase. Seeing that the roadway was momentarily clear, Bonners Ferry Police Officer Scott Davis used his patrol rig to push the SUV off the highway and into a snow bank.

But it still didn't end the chase as the driver left the vehicle and tried to make a run for it.

He didn't get far as he was hit by several Tasers simultaneously. Once the shock of that hair-raising experience subsided, a much subdued driver surrendered and was taken into custody without further ado.