A 44-year-old Bridge Lake man resisted arrest while 100 Mile RCMP attempted to detain him for prohibited driving Friday.
An off-duty officer with the B.C. Highway Patrol first observed the man, who is known to the police, on April 9 at 12:38 p.m. driving along Highway 97. A patrol was made by on-duty officers shortly after but they did not locate the suspect, Staff-Sgt. Svend Nielsen said.
Later in the day, Nielsen said two witnesses who knew the man saw him driving down Moore Avenue in the Exeter Industrial Park. Officers with the B.C. Highway Patrol and 100 Mile House RCMP headed to the site, where they found him behind the wheel of the vehicle, accompanied by a female passenger.
“The man is known to police and to be involved in drugs and to carry weapons (including firearms and knives) on his person,” Nielsen said. “The officers were also aware that the same man had been involved in a traffic stop last week where a fully loaded carbine had been found in the vehicle he was driving.”
As police arrived, the man immediately exited his vehicle and approached the patrol vehicle. Nielsen said while the man was being arrested for prohibited driving, he failed to follow instructions and allegedly forcefully pushed one of the arresting officers to the ground.
A fight then broke out, prompting one of the arresting officers to request emergency backup via his radio. Eventually, the two arresting officers were able to hold the man, who continued to struggle, on the ground until backup arrived. He was then arrested safely and an incidental search of his vehicle was conducted where police say they found a large knife and drugs on the dash.
“Both officers involved received minor injuries from the altercation. The suspect was taken to hospital with minor injuries. He was cleared shortly thereafter and taken to cells. The vehicle was impounded,” Nielsen said.
The female passenger, who remained in the car and did not get involved in the struggle, was released with no charges.
The suspect will be released via an undertaking by police on a variety of charges including assaulting a peace officer. As a condition of his release, he must agree to not get in the driver’s seat of any vehicle, to not possess any weapons defined by the Criminal Code of Canada and to not come within a fixed kilometre radius of 100 Mile House, amongst other prohibitions.
Anyone with information is asked to call the 100 Mile House RCMP at 250-395-2456 to speak with an officer, or contact BC Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) to report their information anonymously. Refer to file number 2021-1184.
