For the second time in less than a week, Washington’s restrictions on law enforcement have allowed a local car chase suspect to get away.

Around 9:00 this morning, a Moscow Police Officer got into a car chase with the driver of a black Ford Focus. The officer tried to make the traffic stop for erratic driving. A chase ensued at the Palouse Mall where the driver drove over an island in the parking lot. The driver then headed into Washington on State Route 270 at a high rate of speed. The Moscow officer had to stop at the border and radioed ahead to local Washington authorities to stop the vehicle. Pullman Police radioed back to authorities in Idaho that they couldn’t stop the car.

Nearly all car chases in Washington have been banned by the Democrat majority in the Washington Legislature. A package of laws restricting law enforcement in Washington was signed by Democrat Governor Jay Inslee in 2021.

Last Friday night a driver in downtown Pullman failed to pull over for a routine traffic stop. The Pullman Police Officer who tried to make the stop was forced to end the chase as required by Washington state law.