MERIDIAN -- A car chase in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 84 ended near the Meridian Road exit when an Idaho State Police
trooper threw down a spike strip to stop a man suspected of driving under the influence.
The arrest was seen on the Skycam network. It happened around 5:15 p.m. Traffic on the interstate was backed up in both
directions.
Idaho State Police Sgt. Gordon Dye said witnesses saw the suspect, James L. Masker, 53, of Boise, hit a parked car in the parking
lot of Paul's Market on 11th Avenue North in Nampa. He also drove over a curb.
Police were called and a state trooper spotted the car getting on Interstate 84 at Garrity Boulevard. He tried to make a traffic stop,
but the man failed to yield and continued driving in the right lane in a white passenger car. He did not speed up.
As he passed the Ten Mile Road overpass and approached where Linder Road might intersect with the interstate, a trooper
stopped along the shoulder threw out a spike strip, deflating the right side tires of the car. The suspect pulled over a short distance
later, but initially refused to obey police commands to come out of the vehicle. He flipped off police and yelled at them.
Moments later he exited the vehicle, yelling at police and refusing to comply. He was tasered and taken down by several police
officers.
Gordon said Masker appeared highly intoxicated. He was transported to the Ada County Jail and will have to submit to a blood test
to determine if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Masker faces charges of felony DUI, misdemeanor eluding police, resisting arrest and driving without privileges.
Unfortunately, two patrol officers collided in the while trying to make the turnaround on I-84 while responding to this call. Gordon
said an Idaho State Police and Meridian Police car sustained damage and each had to be towed from the scene. Neither officer
was hurt.
EDITOR'S NOTE: When watching the video of the arrest, notice the white car on the far left of the screen. At first the man inside the
car does not come out. Then he walks to the middle of the interstate where about a half dozen officers take him down.
