Red Deer RCMP are searching for a suspect who allegedly rammed a police car while driving a stolen truck early this morning, resulting in minor injuries to a Red Deer police officer.
RCMP were on patrol in an alley in the Highland Green neighbourhood at 1 a.m. on July 17th when they intercepted a white 2006 Ford F350 in the process of being stolen. The truck fled police, driving on a walking path adjacent to 59th Ave. into the Riverside Meadows neighbourhood. RCMP located it again on Kerrywood Drive near the Taylor Drive intersection, where the truck appeared to be stuck on the median. When an RCMP officer approached in a marked police cruiser, the truck reversed at high speed toward the police car, collided with it, then fled northbound on Taylor Drive.
The police cruiser suffered severe damage to the front end, and the police officer driving it sustained minor injuries in the collision and was treated at hospital.
The driver of the truck is described as a skinny Caucasian male, early to mid-30s, with some facial hair, wearing a black hat and a black hoodie.
RCMP recovered the stolen truck abandoned in a parking lot in north Red Deer shortly before 8:30 a.m. the same day.
“The driver of this truck showed blatant disregard for life – both for the safety of the public as he crashed through a park area and drove erratically at high speeds on city streets, and for the life of the police officer he intentionally collided with,” said Staff Sgt. Jeff McBeth of the Red Deer RCMP. “This incident highlights why RCMP strongly encourage the public not to engage with criminals. Every day, police officers deal with criminals making dangerous choices trying to avoid arrest, and we’re lucky, today, that our member wasn’t seriously injured.”
This is the second incident of damage to a Red Deer police car by a thief in a stolen vehicle attempting to evade arrest in the space of four days; the evening of July 13th, a woman driving a stolen silver 2004 Ford Freestar van collided with the side of a police car while fleeing police. In that case, the police car sustained minor damage and the police officer was not injured. That van had an Alberta license plate BWW3351 at the time of its theft; it has not been recovered yet.
Anyone with information about either investigation is asked to contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or report it online at www.tipsubmit.com.
– Fawcett
