A high speed chase that was called off eventually resulted in the arrest of a 21-year-old male, who faces a number of charges. At one point the suspect’s vehicle collided with a police car (shown here).
Photo contributed
As a result of a significant multi-jurisdictional police effort, dogged determination and an unfortunate shortage of fuel in his tank, a fleeing 21-year-old male eventually ended up in custody at the Oliver RCMP Detachment last Thursday night. The man remains in custody on a slew of proposed charges and outstanding warrants from Manitoba.
On August 22 at approximately 11:10 pm a uniformed member of the Summerland RCMP detachment attempted to stop a Ford SUV which was travelling south on Highway 97 towards Penticton. The driver and lone occupant of the vehicle was driving at an excessive rate of speed and in consideration of the safety of both the police officer and the travelling public the vehicle was not pursued. The Summerland RCMP alerted Penticton detachment officers to the south, making them aware of the situation.
Shortly after receiving the information, an on-duty RCMP Police Dog Service member patrolling north of Penticton observed the suspect vehicle still travelling south at a high rate of speed. Penticton RCMP general duty and plain clothes officers were advised of the direction of travel and the excessive speed.
A Penticton detachment officer driving a marked police vehicle attempted to pull the vehicle over on the Penticton Channel Parkway, at which time the driver did not stop and sped away at an even higher rate of speed. Again, consistent with current pursuit practices and based on a concern for public safety, the attempt to stop the individual was discontinued.
The Oliver and Osoyoos RCMP were provided details of the unfolding incident at which time they positioned an officer north of Oliver on Highway 97. At 11:42 the Oliver RCMP member observed the suspect vehicle travelling southbound toward Oliver on Highway 97 and verified the man’s speed via radar to be in excess of 140 km/h in the indicated 80 and 90 km/h zone. A second Oliver RCMP officer also in a marked police car with emergency lights engaged, attempted to stop the vehicle, only to have the suspect pull a U-turn and collide with the police car head on. This officer sustained minor injuries as a result.
The uninjured suspect failed to stop and carried on driving northbound towards an awaiting police car, at which time he initiated a second U-turn and again headed southbound at speeds in excess of 140 km/h.
Given the high rate of speed and the driving behaviour, the officers stopped their attempts to pull the vehicle over, eventually losing visual contact with the suspect vehicle. Officers from the Oliver and Osoyoos detachments supported by plain clothes and Police Dog Service members from the Penticton detachment then combed the Oliver area looking for the vehicle.
“It was a keen sense of observation and good instinct that paid off, when plain clothes Penticton officers observed a nervous male filling up a gas can at the Oliver 7-Eleven gas station. Acting on the odds of probability and police intuition, investigators covertly observed and followed the male who walked away from the pumps and led them back to the suspect vehicle. Apparently a sustained speed of 140 plus had quickly emptied the fuel tank of the suspect’s 2001 Ford Explorer,”said Sgt. Ken Harrington, area commander of the Oliver RCMP.
The 21-year-old male currently of Kamloops is in custody facing numerous Criminal Code and traffic related offences. It was also confirmed that the man has several outstanding warrants for his arrest in Manitoba, where Crown prosecutors have agreed to extend jurisdiction on eight outstanding warrants. The warrants include assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, and failing to appear. The man was expected to appear in Penticton Provincial Court on August 26.
