Deputies ended a slow-speed car chase on South Whidbey last week after the suspect stuck his head, left arm and torso out the window while he was driving, according to court documents.

The incident began when a Clinton resident reported on July 31 that Erik Parker was at her home in violation of a court order. A deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office drove around looking for him and saw his white pickup truck northbound on Highway 525. The deputy’s report states that she recognized him from prior contacts.

The deputy turned on lights and sirens to try to pull Parker’s truck over, but he refused to stop and “put up his middle finger,” the report states. Parker drove in a “serpentine fashion” all over the road while sticking his arm out the window and making a motion with his fist.

Parker stopped at a red light. The deputy used the announcement speaker to tell him to pull over, but he honked his horn incessantly and turned left onto Cultus Bay Road.

“Erik continued to drive but placed his head, torso and left arm out of the vehicle,” the deputy wrote, adding that the slowness of his driving was dangerous for cars coming around a blind curve.

While he was hanging out of the car, Parker aggressively motioned to other cars and looked back at the deputy. Since Parker wasn’t keeping his eyes on the road, the deputies decided to terminate the pursuit. He drove to his house, where deputies later arrested him.

Parker appeared in Island County Superior Court on Aug. 1. Judge Carolyn Cliff found that probable cause existed to believe he may have committed the crimes of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle and violation of a court order.

The judge set Parker’s bail at $5,000 and ordered that he should be interviewed by a mental health professional for possible commitment to a mental health treatment facility.