Hayden high speed pursuit after public safety forum
Sheriff's deputies were in a high speed pursuit across three cities at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday. Sheriff's deputies eventually surrounded the suspect in a residential area, where he was arrested and brought into custody.
Shortly after Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris and Deputy Tanner Cox left Hayden City Hall Wednesday evening, after participating in a public forum on a proposed levy that would provide funding for more law enforcement officers in the city, a radio call went out regarding a police pursuit happening nearby. The pursuit was in progress around Wyoming Avenue and U.S. 95, just five blocks from Hayden City Hall.
The driver, 31-year-old Carlos Salazar from Rathdrum, has a criminal record and was reportedly driving “extremely recklessly.”
Kootenai County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Flory attempted to stop Salazar for suspected driving under the influence after he observed Salazar’s vehicle driving dangerously.
“Flory saw the vehicle swerving within its own lane,” said Deputy Zachary Siffords, public information officer for the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office. “He also wasn’t displaying a rear license plate. The driver signaled as if he were going to pull over and then sped to flee the scene.”
Salazar failed to stop and sped down U.S. 95 until he turned east onto Wilbur Avenue at speeds of roughly 80 miles per hour, according to reports from the sheriff’s department.
Salazar entered Dalton Gardens and then slowed to turn south onto Fourth Street. He accelerated and drove over the roundabout at Hanley, again going approximately 80 miles per hour.
After speeding through residential areas with posted speed limits of 25 miles per hour, Salazar eventually stopped in a cul-de-sac at Knotty Pine Lane and Second Street in Coeur d’Alene, where he fled on foot.
Four Kootenai County sheriff’s deputies were brought on scene, including two K9 units that were called in for duty, to set up a perimeter and command center to contain the suspect.
In the residential neighborhood just north of Costco, sheriff's deputies found Salazar hiding in a dumpster and were able to arrest him without incident.
He is being charged with resisting arrest, eluding an officer and driving without a license.
There were no drugs or weapons found in the vehicle or on Salazar’s person at the time of his arrest.
“Deputies initiated a vehicle pursuit in the city of Hayden that jeopardized many people,” Sheriff Norris said. “As Kootenai County grows and develops, a more dangerous criminal element is emerging. The suspect allegedly has an extensive criminal history from another state. We are fortunate that no one was killed or seriously injured.”
Court records show Salazar was most recently arrested Oct. 7 in Kootenai County for illegal possession of a firearm, driving without a license and possession of more than 3 ounces of marijuana.
In 2019, Salazar was arrested in San Bernardino County, California, for firing at an occupied building in a reportedly stolen vehicle, according to reports in the Daily Bulletin newspaper. The charges for the vehicle theft were later dismissed.
Salazar pleaded no contest to firing into an inhabited building, and assault on a person with a firearm and was sent to prison. He was released Feb. 24, 2021, according to public court documents from San Bernardino County.
Sheriff Norris had just finished answering questions at the forum about the dangers of only having one officer on duty at any time in Hayden, as crime rates are increasing.
Norris was called to assist a Hayden deputy who was responding to a suicide call at the time of the pursuit, but Deputy Cox, who also attended the levy forum, was called to the pursuit of Salazar.