A dashcam video submitted to Global News shows a driver quickly swerving to the side of Calgary’s Beddington Trail early Sunday morning as flashing police lights approach him in his own lane.
The video appears to show part of a police chase that led to the arrest of three people on Sunday.
In a news release from Airdrie RCMP on Sunday, police describe a pursuit of a stolen pickup truck towing a trailer that started in Airdrie but made its way into Calgary city limits, where the Calgary Police Service (CPS) eventually took over.
RCMP members began chasing a Ford F-150 after it fled a traffic stop with no lights on.
The truck then drove along Airdrie streets in the wrong direction, eventually making its way toward Highway 2 and then toward Calgary.
WATCH: 3 people face charges after high-speed police pursuit in Calgary
When the truck entered the Calgary city limits, the erratic driving continued, with the truck speeding along with the trailer partially detached after a failed attempt to detach it.
CPS patrol cars and the HAWCS police helicopter were called to help.
In the video, three police cars are seen chasing the truck and stolen trailer at high speeds in the oncoming lane along Beddington Trail. Another car is seen pulled over on the highway as the driver continues on.
Calgary police said there’s no protocol that states they cannot chase a suspect vehicle, but that they use discretion based on the situation.
“That’s something that we continually assess, monitoring the driver of the vehicle that’s fleeing’s driving patterns, their age, their state of mind, all of those things come into play.”
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Gagne said Calgary police officers will work closely with RCMP if a pursuit starts in their jurisdiction and eventually comes into CPS jurisdiction, and then decide for themselves whether to continue the pursuit.
“As we see in this video, things can change very quickly – vehicles travelling at high rates of speed, coming at oncoming traffic — we have to make a determination of whether our presence there will continue that dangerous pattern of driving, or whether we can safely alert other motorists on the roadways by having our emergency equipment on to try to prevent a collision,” he said.
“The high visibility of our lights as well as the sound of our siren, we’re hoping in those situations, will alert other motorists to get out of the way.”
Police said the three people arrested on Sunday remain in custody and are facing several charges. The truck was finally stopped after it returned to Airdrie when police deployed a spike belt.
–With files from Gary Bobrovitz
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