A Delta man evading the Vancouver Police jumped into False Creek to avoid capture, police are reporting.
The dunk into the Vancouver drink took place Wednesday night after a strange string of events.
At about 5:30 p.m. Vancouver police responded to a call of a suspected shoplifter at Whole Foods in the 800-block of West 8 Avenue.
The suspected thief got away after a struggle with the store’s loss prevention officer, however, the groceries were recovered.
Less than two hours later, when the loss prevention officer (LPO) was on his way home after the shift, the alleged thief approached him asking for his keys he lost in the earlier scuffle.
The LPO said he had the keys back at the store and the man joined him in the walk back to Whole Foods. There, the LPO quietly called the police letting them know the suspect was back.
As soon as the man saw police, he ran.
The suspect ran into an apartment complex, and was followed by a police officer. The suspect punched the officer in the face, and took off.
He ran west down 6 Avenue, through a huge growth of blackberry bushes, across train tracks, over a fence, past the SkyTrain station toward False Creek.
The suspect sprinted into the creek, where he swam toward a marina, where he disappeared between some moored boats.
The Vancouver K9 squad was called and eventually found the suspect dripping wet on the dock.
An ambulance was called in case the man was hypothermic from being in the water for a while.
He was later taken to jail and faces numerous charges, including theft, assault, assaulting a peace officer, and escaping lawful custody.
