UPDATE: Suspect arrested after Alberta RCMP officer dragged 100m

Watch above: A Three Hills man is facing charges after a Strathcona County RCMP officer was dragged by a pick-up during a routine traffic stop.

EDMONTON – Strathcona County RCMP have located and arrested a Three Hills man in connection with the injury of one of their officers during a routine traffic stop Friday.

Late Friday night, RCMP arrested 23-year-old Christopher Ferguson and charged him with numerous offences including dangerous driving causing bodily harm, criminal flight, criminal hit and run, and impersonation.

The charges stem from an incident that took place in Strathcona County Friday afternoon.

At around 1:15 p.m., an RCMP Traffic Services officer pulled over a driver who was speeding on Wye Road just west of Highway 21.

The vehicle pulled into Sherwood Hills Estates and stopped.

“When the officer approached the window he did speak with the male driver, and sometime during that conversation the male driver did attempt to flee the scene and left the scene at a high rate of speed,” said Cst. Elissa Purvis with Strathcona County RCMP.

Purvis says the officer was dragged by the vehicle for 100 metres before he was able to free himself and roll away from the truck.

Other officers chased the driver, but the suspect vehicle did not stop for police, and continued to drive through the subdivision, smashing through a fence and heading south on Highway 21. It was last seen travelling east on Township Road 522 around 1:30 p.m.

The officer, a seven-year RCMP veteran, was taken to a hospital in Edmonton with non life-threatening injuries.

“The officer is doing very well. He’s still in a local hospital. He is going in for surgery,” Purvis said Saturday. “He’s in very good spirits.”

Officers were searching for a black 2011 Ford F150 truck, with Alberta licence plate BJD 2680.

Police say it was information provided by the public that led officers to a rural acreage in the Three Hills area, where Ferguson was arrested.

RCMP say there was a young child in the suspect vehicle Friday afternoon. They say the child was not with Ferguson when he was arrested. The child was located and is safe with family.

Ferguson was also wanted on several warrants from Didsbury RCMP and the Edmonton Police Service for the following charges:

• One count of break and enter and commit robbery with a firearm
• Three counts of mischief under $5000
• One count of violating a municipal bylaw

A bail hearing for Ferguson was held on the evening of Saturday, May 31. The accused did not speak to bail and was remanded into custody to appear in Sherwood Park Provincial Court on Wednesday, June 4 at 9:30 a.m.

The injured RCMP officer had surgery on the weekend and has been released from hospital to recover at home.

The investigation is ongoing, but officers say Ferguson could face further charges.

*This story was originally published on Friday, May 30, 2014. It was updated at 11:19 a.m. MST Saturday to include information on the suspect’s arrest, and again on Monday to include bail information