Driver charged after Edson Mountie dragged by truck during arrest

Charges have been laid after a Mountie was dragged by a pickup truck while trying to arrest the driver in Edson, Alta., on Wednesday.

RCMP in the town west of Edmonton said they received a complaint Wednesday of a suspicious person and vehicle near 55 Street and 6 Avenue. At around 2 p.m., Mounties later spotted a vehicle matching the description leaving the scene and followed it to a gas station.

That’s when police say an officer went up to the pickup truck to try to arrest the driver, who they said had outstanding warrants. RCMP said during the arrest, the driver put the truck into reverse and dragged the officer until the truck collided with another vehicle.

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The officer who was dragged was then able to get away and the vehicle left the gas station.

Police later found the truck driving north on 56 Street and blocked an intersection to try to stop the driver. RCMP believe he purposefully accelerated and hit the occupied police vehicle. The collision stopped the flight of the suspect vehicle and the driver was arrested.

Devin Okrainetz, 41, of Edson, was charged with two counts of assault on a police officer with a weapon, resisting arrest, obstructing a peace officer, flight from police, failing to remain at the scene of an accident and failing to abide by release conditions.

Police said at the time of the incident, he was also wanted on eight outstanding warrants out of Edson and Hinton for offences including break and enter to commit assault, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and fraud under $5,000.

READ MORE: RCMP seeks suspect(s) after Edson woman dragged, knocked unconscious outside her home

“We are continuing our work to apprehend individuals wanted on warrant and take them off our streets,” Edson RCMP Sgt. Jason Pennoyer said. “Crime reduction is of the utmost importance to us as we work with our law enforcement and government partners to decrease crime.”

Okrainetz was denied bail and is set to appear next in Edson Provincial Court on Feb. 20.

A woman who was a passenger in the pickup was also taken into custody but later released without being charged.

The officer who was dragged was taken to hospital with minor injuries, and released later in the day. The officer involved in the collision wasn’t hurt.

READ MORE: Alberta RCMP changing tactics to address rural crime

Edson is about 190 kilometres west of Edmonton.

— With files from Phil Heidenreich, Global News