A suspect has been arrested after allegedly stealing a police cruiser in the Quebec City area — but not before authorities say he briefly stole a second police vehicle during his getaway attempt.
Quebec provincial police say they received a call from Lévis police at about 12:30 p.m. on Monday, asking for help to locate one of the force’s vehicles that had been stolen during an operation.
Police located the suspect driving down the highway and tried to use a spike strip to puncture the car’s tires.
After the driver avoided the initial device, swerving into a concrete barrier, additional spike strips eventually brought the car to a halt about an hour after the incident began.
At that point, police say the suspect resisted arrest, assaulted an officer and briefly seized control of a second police vehicle, this one belonging to provincial police.
The suspect, a man in his 30s, was stopped shortly afterwards and taken to hospital for evaluation, while two officers who were hurt during the operation were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspect is being detained in hospital. He is expected to appear in court via telephone on Tuesday afternoon.
The Sûreté du Québec said he faces several charges including robbery of a vehicle, break and enter, assault, attempted robbery of a vehicle, as well as dangerous driving and fleeing.
— With files from Global News’ Annabelle Olivier