Suspect in car chase that ended near Polo Park stole gas, ran red light: RCMP

The man arrested after a police chase Sunday was wanted for allegedly stealing gas and running a red light.

Mounties in Headingley noticed an eastbound BMW blow through a light just west of the Perimeter on Highway 1.

They later learned that the driver of this car had put gas in the tank at the Headingley Co-op but didn’t pay for it.

RCMP tried to stop the car but were unsuccessful, so when the driver sped off into the city, they asked Winnipeg Police to get involved.

“We have procedures in place. We see it’s going eastbound, we’re going to be entering city limits, we will advise WPS immediately what’s taking place,” RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre explained. “They’ll have units ready in case they need to assist. The communication between the two agencies is relatively easy to advise what’s going on.”

The chase came to a head on Portage Avenue in front of the Polo Park Shopping Centre in the middle of the afternoon.

Video of the conclusion of the chase was shared thousands of times online, showing the car coming to a stop, getting surrounded by cop cars and officers eventually breaking the drivers’ side window of the BMW to get the stubborn driver out of the car and into handcuffs.

“The public, at many times, doesn’t get to see the true picture of policing,” Manaigre said. “With technology in place and video more widely available, with this being in broad daylight, just happened to highlight a certain situation police will encounter from time to time. Everything ended up being positive, we made an arrest. In the end that’s the goal, that nobody gets hurt.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The public, at many times, doesn't get to see the true picture of policing," Manaigre said. "With technology in place and video more widely available, with this being in broad daylight, just happened to highlight a certain situation police will encounter from time to time. Everything ended up being positive, we made an arrest. In the end that's the goal, that nobody gets hurt."

Manaigre cautioned anyone near a police situation like this one on Sunday to keep a safe distance.

“They’re standing at the next building over, everyone’s pulling their phones out. At one time, an officer does advise people to get back, I guess they were starting to encroach. People need to be cognizant of the dangers that could potentially come out of an outcome like this.”

The driver of the car, 39-year-old Arsalan Lavang of Edmonton, faces charges of dangerous driving, fleeing from police, assault with a weapon (driving into a police car), theft and mischief.

Manaigre said the suspect is also involved with similar offences in BC.