Officers arrested a 25-year-old in the Twin Rinks parking lot in Chilliwack on Feb. 10 after he allegedly punched an officer at a location on Lickman Road near Highway 1, and fled in a vehicle.

Officers arrested a 25-year-old in the Twin Rinks parking lot in Chilliwack on Feb. 10 after he allegedly punched an officer at a location on Lickman Road near Highway 1, and fled in a vehicle.

Man arrested after allegedly punching Chilliwack Mountie, leading police on cross-town chase

Huge police presence at Twin Rinks prompted by witness statement the man had a knife; pepper-spray deployed before arrest

There were no serious injuries during an alleged assault Friday on a police officer followed by a cross-town RCMP response that led to the arrest of one man near Twin Rinks in Sardis.

The incident began near The Local Harvest Market in the 7600-block of Lickman Road around noon when Mounties received a report of a man “behaving strangely,” according to Chilliwack RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Mike Rail.

A general duty officer located the 25-year-old male, began speaking with him and during the interaction the man punched the officer and was able to take off in a vehicle, Rail said.

Police say a knife was spotted, which raised the urgency of the call. A number of witnesses saw as approximately 10 marked RCMP vehicles sped south on Lickman, headed east on South Sumas and then turned south on Tyson Road.

The chase came to a culmination in the Twin Rinks parking lot as officers cornered the man and made an arrest.

The arresting officer did deploy pepper spray and the 25-year-old was taken into custody.

Both the suspect and the officer were taken to hospital and were deemed to be uninjured.

The man was released from custody, and a report will be submitted to Crown counsel to assess whether charges of assaulting a peace officer and/or possession of a weapon are warranted.

paul.henderson@theprogress.com

@PeeJayAitch

Chilliwack Progress