Police opened fire on a stolen car when the driver tried to ram his way past officers in Langley Christmas Day.
It happened around 1 p.m. shortly after a man who had his 1993 Honda Del Sol stolen earlier in the week spotted his vehicle being driven in the Cloverdale area of Surrey.
He called 911 and officers were soon tailing the stolen car south on 200 Street.
When it came to a stop at 72 Avenue, the two officers boxed in the vehicle with their police cruisers.
They got out and approached the suspect vehicle.
“The driver of the stolen car then began ramming the police cars out of the way,” Insp. Tim Shields told CTV News.
“There were shots that were fired by the police and the stolen car was struck.”
At least three shots were fired, one shattering a car window.
None, it appears, hit the driver.
The suspect vehicle then rammed the police cars out of the way and sped off, escaping capture.
Shields said though the officers opened fire, there was “no indication” the driver was struck.
A shotgun shell could be seen at the intersection following the incident.
Police found the stolen vehicle about a half hour later 10 blocks away, with no sign of the driver.
The vehicle was seized and towed back to a Surrey RCMP detachment.
Police are now appealing for witnesses of the incident or those who may know the driver to come forward.
Please call Langley RCMP at 604-532-3200.
The suspect is described as a white man in his 40s with scruffy facial hair, medium-length dark brown hair and was wearing sunglasses.
Shields said the case will not be taken over by the Independent Investigations Office police watchdog because even though police fired shots at the vehicle, the suspect wasn’t struck.
RCMP will be conducting independent officer reviews to investigate the use of force and find out exactly what happened to determine if the actions taken were appropriate.
– with files from CTV News
