Stolen vehicle leads to arrest after AIR1 tracks suspect

Winnipeg Police are crediting their helicopter, AIR1, for tracking down a suspect speeding away from officers in a stolen car.

Officers noticed the vehicle shortly after midnight on Thursday in the area around McGregor Street and Boyd Avenue.

Police tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver sped off.

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Constable Jay Murray says ground officers decided to back off and follow at a distance while AIR1 took over tracking the vehicle.

“We never want to pursue unless we have to,” Murray said. “We always try to take preventative measures to stop the vehicle from becoming involved in a pursuit.”

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“Usually we try to get ahead of the car and throw a stop stick down to disable it, unfortunately that wasn’t the case in this, we couldn’t keep up.”

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The stolen vehicle eventually crashed through a guardrail at Hallet Street and Rover Avenue before coming to a stop on a river bank.

The suspect ran from the vehicle and attempted to hide in bush cover, but was found a short time later and taken into custody.

A 23-year-old man from Winnipeg is charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5000, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, and failure to comply.

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Police say the vehicle is believed to have been taken from a residence in West St. Paul overnight on July 31.

Murray showed the pursuit video taken from AIR1 to the media during a press release Saturday.

“I think it’s a neat video to show the capabilities of the helicopter,” Murray said. “There’s always chases, the difference now is that we can do it a lot safer. We’re very fortunate that we had the helicopter so we could back off and watch from a distance.”