Man in custody after Edmonton police officer on bike struck by vehicle

Edmonton police say charges are pending after an officer on a bike was struck by a vehicle in the downtown core.

Police say the officer was struck while riding in the area of Jasper Avenue and 113 Street. It happened just before 8 p.m. on Thursday.

Police said the vehicle didn’t stop and narrowly missed hitting other pedestrians in the area, so a pursuit began.

The chase lasted about 10 minutes, with the vehicle driving through a neighbourhood and some fences, police said.

Katherine Philcox lives in the area of 124 Avenue and 94 Street. She said she was sitting on the couch on Thursday night when all of a sudden, she heard a screech.

“We thought it was from the Yellowhead. Then we heard the whole fence just bust down,” she explained.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We thought it was from the Yellowhead. Then we heard the whole fence just bust down," she explained.

She came outside to see her fence was blown to pieces. Her child’s play set was also damaged.

“When I came out, I seen cops and they had their guns pointed. Then I guess they got back in their cars and went through and another cop went through… It felt like a movie or something.”

Victoria Breitkreuz owns the house Philcox lives in and said she had just come inside from mowing the lawn. She’s happy she and her dogs weren’t hit.

“I could hear it coming towards the house so I ran outside to get the dogs. They were luckily very close to the house,” she explained.

Breitkreuz said the suspect nearly collided with a cement wall in her backyard.

“This could have been something really damaging and life-altering.”

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The pursuit ended in the area of 119 Avenue and 90 Street, where the suspect was taken into custody.

Shortly before 11 p.m., several police officers remained at the scene. A silver car could be seen in the middle of the road without its front driver wheel attached.

The police officer was not injured, the EPS said.

Benedict James Michalko Richards, 31, was later charged with assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, flight from police, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, mischief and failing to comply with a probation order.

He’s scheduled to appear in court on June 20.

Court documents show an extensive criminal history, including being convicted of assaulting a peace officer, resisting arrest, mischief and breaking and entering.