A stolen vehicle investigation in central Alberta escalated when a suspect allegedly tried to drive away in an RCMP vehicle and was shot at by police earlier this week.
In a news release issued Thursday morning, Red Deer RCMP said an investigation into both the stolen vehicle and the actions of officers is ongoing.
According to police, Mounties were investigating the theft of a pickup truck at about 11:15 p.m. on Tuesday and were able to stop what they believe was the stolen vehicle using a tire-deflation device in the driveway of a rural residential property.
“The suspect exited the vehicle and an altercation ensued,” the RCMP said. “The suspect then jumped into a police car and in an attempt to stop the suspect, an officer deployed a conductive energy weapon (Taser), but the CEW was not effective.
“The suspect put the vehicle into reverse, almost hitting officers. An officer discharged their service pistol but did not hit the suspect.”
According to the RCMP, the suspect then left the scene in the police vehicle. Mounties followed the vehicle into Innisfail, Alta., and then onto northbound Highway 2 where they again were able to stop the vehicle with a tire-deflation device.
Police said the vehicle crashed and the suspect was arrested and taken to a nearby hospital for assessment. They did not say if he was injured but said he has since been released from hospital and remains in police custody.
The RCMP added that charges are pending against the suspect. No police officers were injured during the response.
The RCMP said it notified Alberta’s director of law enforcement about an officer firing their gun.
“As soon as we became aware of this incident involving potential lethal force, we immediately initiated our internal review process and notified the director of law enforcement,” the RCMP said.
“The director of law enforcement assigned the investigation to the RCMP. “