Lethbridge police are looking for a suspect who they say dragged an officer, then hit him with a stolen SUV while trying to avoid arrest.
Police said the officer was responding to a car prowling in the area of 20 Avenue South early on Jan. 30, when he noticed a Lincoln MKX matching the description of a stolen vehicle pull into a parking lot in the 2100 block of Palm Road South “at a high rate of speed.”
When the driver didn’t respond to the officer’s instructions to get out of the vehicle, police said the officer tried the door handle. He was dragged a short distance when the driver put the SUV in reverse, police said.
The officer backed away from the vehicle and the suspect “drove forward for a short distance and then reversed, striking the officer and pushing him back several feet before he was able to move out of the way and avoid being run over.”
Police said in a statement Tuesday the officer suffered minor “bumps and bruises” and didn’t require medical attention.
Police said the suspect sped north on Palm Road and turned east onto 20 Avenue South. Officers haven’t yet been able to find the SUV or driver.
Investigators are looking for a white Lincoln MKX with the licence plate BBT-8529.
The driver is described as having light-coloured curly or messy hair and light-coloured eyes. Police said he was wearing a white T-shirt.
Anyone with information on the suspect or stolen vehicle is asked to call (403) 328-4444 or contact Crime Stoppers.