CHASE: Terrible decisions made

On Wednesday, July 27, I was traveling along Interstate 90 and almost lost my life due to the stupidity of several police departments in western Idaho. I was driving a moving truck and stopped in Wallace to get gas, during which time several police cars went racing through town with their sirens blasting. Approximately 10 minutes later, I pulled back on the freeway, going west, when I soon noticed about a dozen police cars screaming down the interstate heading east. I then realized there was a red Dodge Charger coming straight at me at high speed. I pulled over onto the shoulder, but saw that he was now also on the shoulder, so I pulled back into my original lane and was just lucky that no one was behind me. There was a vehicle in the right lane, and fortunately I had enough of my wits about me to check my mirrors before moving over further.

The Charger went screaming past me on my right, going the wrong direction, and to this day I feel lucky that I am not dead or lying in a hospital bed.

A few days later I saw a small newspaper article in the Coeur d'Alene Press in which the police chase was not recorded accurately. There was no mention of the (stolen) vehicle going the wrong way on I-90, and the writer portrayed the police officers as making a wise decision to discontinue the chase.

If they were so wise, why did the chase begin in Post Falls and end approximately 40 miles later? Why did the local police not block the entrances onto the freeway to protect innocent motorists? Why was there not a helicopter pursuing the stolen vehicle, instead of a dozen police cars screaming down the interstate? Is catching a car thief more important than the lives of dozens of people?

I am shocked, dismayed, frightened and appalled at the extremely poor decisions that were made concerning this incident, and can't help but wonder at the (in)competency of the police force in Idaho. If it were up to me, all of the officers involved in this chase, from the top on down, would be disciplined and fired. There is absolutely no excuse for this dangerous, stupid and reckless behavior by people who are supposedly trained to protect innocent, law-abiding people.

KELLY NIESS

Woodinville, Wash.