Middlesex OPP say an officer suffered minor injuries after being hit in the face by a motorcycle driver during a traffic stop early Sunday.
According to police, the incident began during a traffic stop involving a pickup truck in Strathroy-Caradoc on Longwoods Road just before 3:30 a.m. on May 24.
The Strathroy-Caradoc Police Services officer conducting the stop was confronted by an unrelated man on a motorcycle who became confrontational, prompting a request for assistance from OPP. The motorcyclist fled eastbound on Highway 402 and was later found and stopped by an OPP officer.
Police say the officer learned during the traffic stop of the motorcycle that “the driver’s ability to operate the motorcycle may have been impaired.”
A field sobriety test ensued, and the motorcycle driver “became very aggressive and assaulted the officer by striking him in the face,” police say. The officer used his conducted energy weapon to facilitate an arrest, police say. The officer suffered minor injuries and the accused was not injured, police say.
A 51-year-old man from Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation has been charged with assaulting a peace officer and failure or refusal to comply with demand. Police say he was remanded into custody “as a result of his parole being revoked” and is due in court in London on Aug. 4.