By Susan Bromley

Staff Writer

A woman who ran another vehicle off the road didn’t bargain on an off-duty police officer witnessing the incident.

The off-duty Brandon deputy was northbound on Ortonville Road just north of Seymour Lake Road at about 3:53 p.m., Sept. 21 when he saw the white SUV in front of him leave the northbound lane and attempt to pass a silver vehicle in front of it in the oncoming lane.

The SUV had no room to pass and as it was side-by-side with the silver vehicle, the deputy heard a car horn. The SUV steered toward the driver’s door on the silver car, which had nowhere to go and stayed in its lane. The SUV then swerved at the silver car again, this time more aggressively, forcing the silver car off the road and onto the dirt shoulder.

The deputy noted if the silver car had not made this maneuver, it would have been struck. The SUV continued northbound and the silver car reentered the road behind the SUV, which then slammed on its brakes at least three times. The off-duty deputy called an on-duty deputy and informed him of the situation as he continued to follow both vehicles.

The silver car maintained a safe distance and turned onto South Street as the off-duty deputy continued to follow the SUV northbound and the on-duty deputy began following the SUV at Mill Street, activating emergency lights and then siren.

Once stopped, the deputy asked the driver for her license, registration and proof of insurance. She asked why she was stopped and the deputy explained

he had two complaints regarding her driving and was investigating. She immediately asked why the deputy was harassing her.

The deputy then asked the woman a total of nine times for her driver’s license and she finally admitted she didn’t have one. The deputy ordered her to exit the vehicle 28 times and she never complied. A second deputy arrived on scense and she was told five times she was under arrest. The deputies had to physically remove her from the vehicle as she resisted and then had to hold her down on the patrol car while the off-duty deputy handcuffed her.

She was transported to the Oakland County Jail where she was lodged and ultimately charged with two counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer, one count of reckless driving and one count of driving without a license.