Calgary police said two officers were pepper sprayed while attempting to arrest a man allegedly caught driving a stolen vehicle on Wednesday morning.
Police said the incident started when officers attempted to stop two people travelling in the vehicle on Penbrooke Drive S.E. at around 2 a.m.
Investigators said the driver refused to stop. A short time later, the vehicle was located abandoned along Fonda Court S.E., where it was confirmed to be stolen.
Officers followed footprints in the snow to locate a woman, thought to be the passenger in the vehicle, who was taken into custody. Police said the driver, who fled on foot, was later located in the area of 36 Street and Memorial Drive E.
According to a Thursday news release, it was at this point that the suspect “pulled an object out and one officer deployed his Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW) with negative results.”
“The man then pepper sprayed both officers directly in their faces. One of the officers deployed a CEW for a second time, again with no effect on the man, who then pepper sprayed officers a second time.”
Police said the officers continued to follow the suspect while fighting through the “debilitating effects of the pepper spray.”
Police allege the man then pulled out a 12” knife concealed in his pants, and turned to face the officers, raising the knife “in a threatening manner” and “telling the officers to shoot him.”
One of the officers deployed a CEW for the third time, temporarily incapacitating the man.
“Once the effect of the CEW wore off, the man continued to resist arrest, but was ultimately taken into custody without further injury to the officers involved,” police said.
Paramedics treated the officers at the scene.
When asked in a Thursday news conference why officers used a CEW instead of their firearms, Inspector Kelly Campbell said the Calgary Police Service (CPS) relies on its officers to make those types of decisions dependant on the situation they’re in.
“Our officers have to make these decisions in split seconds,” Campbell said. “Every situation is different.”
“We trust our officers to make those decisions, and we support our members in any decision.”
According to the CPS, the woman was found to have a baton on her, along with a backpack full of mail from over 50 different people, and a small amount of marijuana. The stolen vehicle was identified as one that had been taken from the community of Mayland Heights on March 3, after keys were left inside the vehicle overnight.
Police have charged Brittany Anne Manning, 18, with one count of possession of marijuana. She is schedule to appear in court on Wednesday, April 26, 2017.
Erik Richard Couronne, 22, was arrested on 36 outstanding warrants and has been charged in relation to this incident with:
- Two counts of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon
- One count of possession of stolen property over $5,000
- Three counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
- Two counts of resisting arrest
- One count of failure to comply with a condition of a recognizance
- One count of operating a motor vehicle without licence in possession
- One count of driving an uninsured motor vehicle
- One count of careless driving
Police said they continue to investigate the theft of mail.