A police pursuit of an allegedly stolen vehicle that resulted in a serious accident and injury did not violate city policy or state laws, according to a review by Columbia Falls Police Chief Chad Stephens.  

“I have reviewed the factors in this pursuit and determined it is within our policy and did not violate any MCA [state] statutes,” Stephens said in a recent report to City Council.  

Based on police reports and subsequent court documents, on. Jan. 9 at about 8:42 p.m., the Flathead County Sheriff’s Department took a report of a stolen 1999 Dodge Durango at the Town Pump in Evergreen.  

The driver of the alleged stolen vehicle, Alfred Chester Paul Flamond, 34, of Kalispell, traveled eastbound up U.S. 2 and entered Columbia Falls. According to police calculations, Flamond was traveling about 90 mph heading to Columbia Falls.  

At about 8:51 p.m. a Columbia Falls Police officer saw Flamond driving east on U.S. 2 recklessly as the Durango ran a red light, weaved through traffic and was going about double the posted speed limit of 25 mph, according to reports.  

Two Columbia Falls Police officers attempted to stop the vehicle by activating their lights and sirens.  

The Durango initially moved over to the outside lane but then sped up to 65 mph in a 45 mph zone and then began weaving, crossing from the outside lane through the inside lane and almost through the center turn lane.   

As the Durango approached the intersection of U.S. 2 East and Montana 206, the Durango weaved back into the inside lane of travel.   

As the traffic light changed from green to red, the officer noted that the Durango’s brake lights only briefly illuminated, indicating that Flamond was not going to attempt to slow down or stop at the intersection. The officer changed his siren sounds in an attempt to alert any other drivers that the Durango was going to run the red light.  

Flamond ran the light, which, according to police car camera footage, had been red approximately five seconds before the collision. Flamond ran into the driver’s side door of Hazel Alexander’s Honda CRV.   

Alexander, a Columbia Falls High School junior and standout member of the girls cross-country team, was the lone occupant and had numerous and severe injuries.  

She was initially treated at Logan Health in Kalispell and then life-flighted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she has undergone numerous surgeries. Doctors removed her spleen, treated her for a broken femur, broken jaw, shattered pelvis, and she also had a stroke.   

An analysis of the pursuit found it lasted about 80 seconds and went 1.6 miles.  

In his report, Stephens noted that Flamond had already been driving recklessly before the pursuit, as he was speeding, driving recklessly and had previously run a red light.  

Police did not have time to put down spike strips, which blow the tires of a vehicle and slow it down. They also did not get close enough to ram it or do what’s known as a pursuit intervention tactic. A PIT is a low-speed tactic where the police car applies lateral pressure to rear quarter panel of the fleeing vehicle, causing it to spin out.  

Columbia Falls does not have any officers certified in the maneuver.  

In this case, road conditions were also not a factor. The pavement was dry with some wet patches.  

The report outlines Flamond’s alleged reckless driving during the incident.  

“Officers later calculated that for the suspect to arrive in Columbia Falls when he did from 12 miles away where he originally stole the vehicle from, he would have had to been traveling approximately 90 mph the entire way,” Stephens noted. “While this was not known to the officers at the time of the pursuit, the information supports the officer’s initial observations of reckless driving and indicates the suspect’s driving behavior may have continued even had the officers terminated the pursuit. Thus, the collision could have still occurred.”  

Stephens’s report includes a copy of the city’s full pursuit policy, which is available online at the city’s website and is part of the Jan. 20, 2025, packet to council.  

There are several factors to consider when initiating a pursuit, it notes, including “the seriousness of the known or reasonably suspected crime committed by the suspect and the threat to the safety of the public if the suspect remains at large.”  

Flamond, according to Stephens, had been previously arrested by various law enforcement agencies 44 times, including six alleged felonies. Flamond is being held in the Flathead County Detention Center.  

Council took no action on the report, and Stephens said it is the goal of the department to train officers in PIT maneuvers in the future.