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James Richard Zalsman, 26, stole a marked Ottawa County Sheriff's Office patrol car during a domestic assault call in Robinson Township in October 2009, led deputies on a rural chase and was charged with eight felonies and misdemeanor domestic violence.

Ottawa County deputies were called to the corner of 144th Avenue and Unicorn Drive about 3:15 p.m. on Oct. 9, 2009, after a 46-year-old woman reported by cell phone that her live-in boyfriend was assaulting her in her car, according to the Holland Sentinel. When a deputy arrived and the man ran, the deputy chased him on foot. The man doubled back, got into the deputy's patrol car and drove off, leaving the deputy behind.

A passing motorist stopped and let the deputy use his own car, with the motorist still inside, to continue the pursuit at speeds of 30 to 40 mph through northwest Ottawa County. Sheriff's Lt. Steve Kempker said credit belonged to the driver who stopped, adding that without his help "we would not have had such a good outcome."

Dispatchers stayed in radio contact with the man during the chase and repeatedly asked him to pull over. He responded at times with disjointed remarks, including "I'm not psychotic," "Please just let me continue" and "Land of the free, home of the brave," and mentioned driving to his mother's house and to the county's Fillmore Street complex. The pursuit reached 75 mph on 120th Avenue, and the man steered around spike strips deputies had laid down.

As the stolen cruiser neared the busy M-45 highway, four other patrol cars moved to box it in. The man rammed the surrounding vehicles, spinning the car of Sheriff's Lt. Mike Brookhouse and injuring him. Brookhouse was treated for minor injuries at North Ottawa Community Hospital before the man was taken into custody.

Ottawa County prosecutors charged Zalsman with eight felonies, including unlawful driving away of an automobile, fleeing a police officer, assaulting or resisting a police officer, and two counts each of assault with a motor vehicle and malicious destruction of police property, along with a misdemeanor domestic violence count, according to court records. Zalsman appeared confused and took long pauses during his video arraignment in Grand Haven District Court on Oct. 12, telling Judge Richard Kloote he wished he would "end up back in the hospital" because he believed he was about to have a child. Kloote set bond at $100,000 and raised it to $150,000 after Zalsman could not provide a home address. Court records show he had a lengthy Ottawa County criminal history, including a 2005 escape from the courthouse while awaiting a hearing, and a prior fleeing and eluding conviction in Florida. A preliminary examination had not yet been scheduled as of the arraignment. No record of a plea, verdict or sentence in the case could be located, so how the charges were resolved is not established here.

The recording is the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office dispatch logging tape from the pursuit, running about 17 minutes and covering the chase along with the dispatcher's radio exchanges with the driver of the stolen cruiser. Whole-channel logging tapes such as this one also carry routine, unrelated radio traffic alongside the incident under discussion.