Just before 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, Spokane County Sheriff's Deputy Christopher Nogle observed a Honda Civic headed west on Sunset Blvd near Assembly. The Honda's exhaust was loud and the vehicle was missing its hood, which is an equipment violation.
Nogle caught up with the Civic and turned on his lights to pull the car over after it pulled into the parking lot of the Cedar Village Motel on Sunset Highway and Lewis St. As he pulled in behind the vehicle, he activated his spotlight and observed a male driver and female passenger. The driver continued to slowly drive through the parking lot toward the east exit. Suddenly, the passenger door opened and the female passenger fell, or was pushed out of the vehicle, and the driver took off. The female did not motion for help and did not appear to be injured after falling from the car, estimated to be going about 5 mph.
Deputy Nogle activated his siren on Lewis St and the driver, identified as 41-year-old Daniel E. Palmer, sped up to try to lose the deputy. During the pursuit, Palmer blew through traffic signals and drove erratically at high speeds.
At the intersection of Geiger Blvd and Hayford Road, Airway Heights Officer Hayes successfully deployed spike strips. The Honda's driver's side front tire was completely flat and Palmer slowed down considerably as he tried to turn on I-90 eastbound at the Highway 902 interchange. Nogle attempted a PIT maneuver to end the pursuit safely, but Palmer was able to maintain control and continued to flee eastbound on I-90.
Palmer had trouble staying in control of his vehicle and eventually pulled on to the shoulder at milepost 274. He got out of the vehicle and laid on the ground. Several deputies responded to give backup.
Deputies Humphrey and Cinkovich approached Palmer, and Palmer tensed up and tried to pull his hands toward his waistband. Deputies ordered him to stop resisting, and he continued to struggle until deputies delivered two knee strikes to his arm.
Once safely taken into custody and being advised of his rights, Palmer said he thought his passenger, whom he didn't know, had drugs and she jumped from the vehicle on her own. He tried to escape because he was scared and knew he had a felony warrant for his arrest in Idaho.
Palmer was booked into the Spokane County Jail for attempting to elude a police vehicle, resisting arrest and driving with a suspended license. He is also held pending extradition to Idaho for the felony warrant.
A search for Palmer's female passenger was not successful.
(story: Matt Pusatory, KHQ Local News Web Producer; image: KHQ.com)