A Saanich police vehicle intentionally rammed a car that was speeding on the Pat Bay Highway early Tuesday morning in order to stop it, police said.
Saanich Sgt. John Price said that, after a review of several significant and concerning factors, permission was given to stop the speeding vehicle to protect the driver and civilian vehicles in its path.
Once the car was stopped and boxed in the southbound lanes of the Pat Bay Highway, Saanich police officers removed the driver with the assistance of a police dog. The suspect received minor injuries during that struggle, police said. There was minimal damage to the vehicles involved.
Saanich police first spotted a Mercury Grand Marquis, with B.C. licence plates, leave the rear parking lot of Pearkes Arena about 2:30 a.m.
The police officer observed the driver acting and driving suspiciously and followed him along Tillicum Road through the intersection of Burnside Road. It was then that the driver unexpectedly stopped, blocking the centre lane of Tillicum Road, and then just as quickly sped away from the officer, spinning the car’s tires, Price said.
The officer turned on his lights and sirens and pursued the vehicle but failed to stop it as it continued south on the Trans-Canada Highway. The suspect then slammed on his brakes and reversed “at a high rate of speed” toward the pursuing officer, Price said.
Likewise, the officer also shifted into reverse to avoid being hit, Price said.
The officer abandoned the chase and stopped his vehicle on the side of the highway, police said. The suspect did a U-turn and headed directly for the stopped police vehicle, Price said.
“The officer was forced to take evasive action with his car to prevent the suspect from hitting him — a second attempt,” Price said.
A 911 caller then informed police that the suspect had earlier been threatening to kill someone. Meanwhile, the suspect was spotted driving north on Quadra Street headed toward the Pat Bay Highway overpass.
With police in pursuit, the suspect travelled at an estimated 120 km/h in the southbound lanes of the Pat Bay Highway with a “blatant disregard” for the law or the safety of others, police or himself, Price said.
The speeding car was headed toward a high-density area with two civilian cars ahead. It was a factor in the decision to stop the vehicle, Price said.
Concerned the suspect would hit the vehicles or someone in the city, the watch commander reviewed the traffic and road conditions and other factors and gave the go-ahead for Saanich police cars, travelling in the same direction, to perform a manoeuvre in which pursuing cars intentionally tap a fleeing vehicle on the rear side panel to spin, stop and box it in.
“The suspect driver was pursued in an effort to stop the driver from harming himself or others,” Price said.
The suspect was stopped in the southbound lanes of the Pat Bay Highway near Vernon Avenue, across from the Saanich Fire Station.
After an initial struggle, Saanich patrol officers, with help from the department’s canine unit, apprehended the driver. The suspect suffered minor injuries and was taken and held at Royal Jubilee Hospital under the Mental Health Act.
The Pat Bay Highway was closed for six hours from McKenzie Avenue overpass to Vernon Avenue while Saanich Police crash analysts conducted their investigation.
The suspect is facing a number of criminal charges for dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, assaulting a police officer with a weapon, and initiating a police pursuit.
