Driver allegedly hits kid, dad, then bites cop

WINNIPEG – The fireworks weren’t all in the sky at The Forks on Monday night.

Police say a woman who was trying to drive away from the Canada Day celebration at The Forks struck a child, then the child’s father, and finally allegedly bit a police officer who turned off her car.

“Whenever we find ourselves in a very congested area, in vehicles specifically, people do become frustrated, but by no means is that an excuse to conduct yourself in this fashion,” Winnipeg police Const. Jason Michalyshen said about the incident.

A Facebook video posted early Tuesday morning shows police eventually dragging the woman out of the window of her car.

Police were summoned to deal with an altercation between a man and a woman at The Forks at about 11:30 p.m. Monday.

As thousands of people left The Forks after the Canada Day fireworks, a driver allegedly hit a child, who wasn’t injured, police said.

The child’s father became upset, and the woman tried to push him out of her way by driving into him multiple times, police said. He also wasn’t injured.

Police said when officers arrived, they repeatedly told the woman to pull to the side of the road, but she refused.

However, because there were so many people leaving the Canada Day event, she couldn’t drive away, and police asked her to turn off her vehicle out of concern for public safety.

When she again refused, an officer reached into the vehicle and turned the ignition off, at which point the woman allegedly bit and injured the officer.

A video of the incident posted on Facebook shows the woman sitting in her car while police apparently try to get her out using other means before they pull her out of the window of the car.

The 20-year-old driver charged with assaulting a police officer, failing to stop and remain stopped when signalled by a police officer and failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

A 17-year-old passenger was also arrested and charged with obstructing and resisting a police officer.