SALEM -- Authorities finally detained a woman in Salem after a nine-mile pursuit that lasted more than an hour and ended when she was tased in an RV park Friday morning, police said.
Silverton officers tried to stop a white Ford Econoline van on West Main Street in Silverton shortly before 11 a.m. after it was reported driving recklessly, said Don Thomson with the Marion County Sheriff's Department.
Behind the wheel was 33-year-old Stephanie Omnik of Salem who did not stop for police and continued driving recklessly on Silverton Road, nearly hitting cars approaching from the opposite direction, Thomson said.
Sheriff's deputies were further down Silverton Road and saw the van quickly approaching. They deployed spike strips and flattened all four of the van's tires, Thomson said.
The van came to a rest at Silverton Road and 48th Avenue, but Omnik did not get out. Instead, she turned up the music and climbed into the back of the van, Thomson said.
Twenty minutes later, Omnik returned to the driver's seat and pointed her hand at deputies as if it were a weapon and drove off on bare rims, Thomson said.
Omnik then pulled into the Salem RV Park at 4490 Silverton Road Northeast, driving at a speed that police say posed a considerable danger to the residents walking in the area.
That's when Deputy Shawn Bush used his patrol car to pin the van against a storage building in the RV park.
Omnik, however, continued to refuse commands to surrender. At one point, she opened her door and threatened deputies with a box-cutter, which she threw at them, Thomson said.
Deputies, in response, deployed a Taser and three bean bag rounds to gain control of Omnik, Thomson said.
Omnik was taken into custody without further incident at 11:47am.
She was transported to the Hospital for a medical check, arrested, cited, and released on multiple charges including felony elude, reckless driving, reckless endangerment, and three counts of assaulting a police officer, Thomson said.
Authorities said they released Omnik on a citation because she stated she was hoping they would shoot her when she threatened them with the knife. She will appear in court at a later time and face booking then.
No pedestrians or law enforcement personnel were injured, Thomson said.
