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Chase ends with beanbag shooting By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune WILLIAMS - A Josephine County man tried to avoid arrest after a high-speed chase early Monday by pointing a plastic toy gun to his head, but was subdued by police who shot him with non-lethal beanbag rounds. Mitchel Thomas Fricke, 31, was taken into custody on several charges and outstanding driving-related warrants after a 20-mile chase along the Williams Highway that ended in the altercation with Josephine County sheriff's deputies. Deputies hailed the incident as proof that the nonlethal beanbag rounds are a valuable alternative to lethal force in some instances. The thumb-sized beanbags are fired from shotguns and are considered the equivalent of wielding a baton - but with the advantage of doing so at a safe distance. The beanbags are part of most police arsenals in Jackson County. Monday's ordeal began at 1:47 a.m. when a sheriff's deputy spotted Fricke standing next to a vehicle parked along the Williams Highway shoulder near Milepost 8, police said. When the deputy approached Fricke, Fricke jumped into the vehicle and drove south on the highway at speeds of more than 80 mph, police said. During the pursuit, police saw Fricke point a firearm to his head, deputies said. The pursuit ended about 20 miles later when Fricke's car became mired in snow on Cedar Flat Road in Williams, police said. After a 20-minute standoff, Fricke stepped from the car with the gun - which police did not know was a fake - pointed at his head, deputies said. Ignoring demands to drop the gun, Fricke instead turned around and began to walk away from the deputies, police said. The beanbag rounds were then fired, striking Fricke and stunning him enough that police were able to capture him after a brief struggle, deputies said. It was then that police realized Fricke's weapon was a plastic toy gun. Fricke was taken to Grants Pass for a medical evaluation at Three Rivers Hospital before he was lodged at the Josephine County Jail. Fricke was being held late Monday without bail on two counts of attempting to elude police officers, driving while suspended and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, as well as four outstanding warrants. Three of the warrants were for failing to appear in court to answer charges of driving while suspended or driving while revoked, and a fourth was for failing to appear on a charge of furnishing false information to a police officer. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.