A 23-year-old man faces multiple charges including resisting arrest and breach of release orders after a Prince Albert RCMP officer was sprayed with bear spray during a traffic stop on Friday.
The incident occurred at around 11:45 p.m. on Friday in the 200 block of 12th Street West. According to a Prince Albert Police Service press release, an RCMP officer stopped a vehicle, but was sprayed with bear spray after approaching it. The occupants of the vehicle then drove away.
A Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) officer saw the vehicle on the 27000 block of Second Avenue West roughly 40 minutes later. The officer attempted to stop the vehicle again. According to police, the driver disregarded the signal and tried to evade apprehension.
The driver eventually abandoned the vehicle on the 400 block of 23rd Street East and attempted to escape on foot. Patrol members and a PAS police dog unit located the man hiding nearby.
Police report that the man was injured while being apprehended by the police dog. The man received medical attention at Victoria Hospital, and was released from care.
The man faces three charges, none of which have been tested in court.
The incident marked the second time over the past week where officers called in a Canine Unit. The first occurred on March 17 at around 11:40 p.m. when an RCMP officer attempted to stop a vehicle on the 2800 Block of Sixth Avenue East.
According to police, the driver of the vehicle disregarding the emergency lights and rammed the police vehicles several times. The 26-year-old driver of the vehicle then fled on foot.
PAPS patrol officers and a Canine Unit later found the man hiding in a yard in the 500 Block of 25th Street East.
The man faces multiple charges including assaulting police officer with a weapon, fleeing from police, and possession of property obtained by crime.
editorial@paherald.sk.ca
