What started as a routine traffic violation Saturday evening escalated into a police foot chase and a confrontation between West Shore RCMP officers and a man with a gun.
Mounties tried to pull over a grey Ford pickup truck at 9:20 p.m. on Saturday after it ran a red light at the intersection of Jacklin Road and Station Avenue in Langford.
The truck sped away, weaving in and out of oncoming traffic, said West Shore RCMP spokeswoman Const. Nancy Saggar.
Officers ended the pursuit because it was risky, she said.
Minutes later, police received a report that the pickup was parked dangerously on the shoulder of the Trans-Canada Highway at the Six Mile Road off-ramp in View Royal.
When Mounties approached the truck, the male driver got out and ran south along the highway.
An officer who chased the man saw him pull a black handgun from his waistband. As other officers arrived, the man stopped running, turned around and confronted police with the gun in hand.
Police pulled their weapons and after a physical altercation, officers took the man into custody. He was taken to the hospital to be checked out but was not injured, Saggar said.
“This was a high-risk situation,” Saggar said. “No shots were fired by either police or the suspect. The handgun was also recovered. We are thankful that our officers were not seriously injured in this incident.”
Saggar credits good de-escalation training which allowed the officers to arrest the man safely without putting the public at risk.
“Once an officer observes something like that [a gun in hand], you’ve got to be fully engaged. You don’t know where this person is going, you don’t know what their motivations are. You’ve got to chase after them.”
A 36-year-old man from Greater Victoria is facing charges of flight from police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and obstructing a police officer.
The man was remanded into custody and is set to appear in court today.
