After a pursuit from West Vancouver to Squamish, an attempt at ramming a police car off the road and foot race through the forest, one man faces a lengthy list of criminal charges.
On Wednesday (Aug. 8) around midnight, West Vancouver police tried to flag down a green pickup truck speeding north on Highway 99. But the driver was having none of it.
Not wanting to start a high speed chase, the West Vancouver officer called the incident in to Squamish, RCMP Sgt. Wayne Pride said.
Squamish police posted a watch at Britannia Beach. Before long, an officer saw a vehicle of similar description flash by at approximately 140 kilometres an hour, Pride said. The officer followed, pulling alongside the truck to get a better look at the driver.
“That is when the vehicle swerved,” Pride said, noting the officer was able to avert a crash. “The member backed off. We don’t want to push a car like that.”
For a short time, police lost sight of the vehicle, only to relocate the suspect pulled over on Squamish Valley Road.
“There were two people still in the vehicle,” Pride said.
Officers called in a police dog, which quickly found a scent, Pride said. When the police dog and handler located the suspect, they were welcomed by bear spray, Pride said.
“[The suspect] was trying to escape,” he said.
The suspect is well-known to police, Pride said, noting officers speculate the 27-year-old Surrey man was under the influence of methamphetamine. The suspect faces a slew of charges including Dangerous Driving and Assaulting a Police Officer.
Fortunately, chases such as this are not common in Squamish, but they do occur, Pride said. Such incidents put innocent bystanders at great risk, he said, noting other drivers’ or pedestrians’ lives could have been put in danger.
