A police chase that started in Staples early Thursday morning, April 15, eventually went through Bertha and ended on Highway 71 south of Bertha.

Staples Officer Ryan Goff initiated a traffic stop at Dakota Ave. and Long Prairie Rd. in Staples about 2:10 a.m. However, the vehicle, which it was later learned was driven by a 16-year-old male from Staples, fled at speeds ranging between 70 to 90 mph for for approximately 20 miles on Todd County Roads 21 and 24 south of Staples.

Todd County deputies were soon involved in the chase. A deputy deployed a spike strip east of Bertha striking the vehicle’s front driver’s side tire. But the pursuit continued through Bertha with the vehicle headed south on Highway 71. There a deputy executed a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver that ended the chase without any injuries.

The driver of the vehicle turned out to be the 16-year-old male who did not have a drivers license. Alcohol was not a contributing factor in the chase, according to the police report. The young driver, however, was charged with fleeing a police officer and theft of a motor vehicle and he was detained by police.

A routine traffic stop on April 15 turned into more issues for both the driver and a passenger in another incident reported by the Staples Police Department.

A Staples officer observed a vehicle being driven by Andrew James Kaiser, 25, of Staples. He was stopped in the 100 block of 8th St. NE for driving without a driver’s license.

Police subsequently determined that he was under the influence and charged him with fourth degree driving while intoxicated and also driving after suspension. He was taken to the Todd County Detention Center.

His passenger, Mallory Kurth, 23, was also arrested on a felony warrant and taken to the Todd County Detention Center. The warrant was from Swift County.

Numerous other incidents were also handled by the police