3 officers injured, 2 charged after 'high-risk arrest' in Steinbach
Two people are facing charges after RCMP chased down a stolen vehicle with armed occupants in Steinbach, Man., on Sunday, with three officers getting injured in the process.
Around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, an RCMP officer tried to stop the SUV because it was being driven "erratically and dangerously" on Highway 12 near Loewen Boulevard, police said in a news release Wednesday.
When the driver saw the police vehicle, he changed direction and drove into the wrong lane of traffic, forcing oncoming vehicles off the road, and drove off, the release says.
The officer checked the vehicle's plates and confirmed it had been stolen and was possibly being driven by a wanted, armed and violent suspect.
Several other police cruisers from Steinbach and St.-Pierre-Jolys, Man., also responded to the area.
Police used a spike belt on the SUV as it drove west on Highway 52, near Industrial Road. The SUV kept driving on flat tires for about two kilometres before turning into a field, where it was stopped by police.
Man armed with machete
A woman and a man were inside the SUV, and the man had armed himself with a machete, police said. Both passengers refused to listen to police commands and "had to be extracted by officers," the release states.
"This was a high-risk arrest with an armed and combative suspect who refused to comply with police", said Superintendent Joanne Keeping, East District Commander for the Manitoba RCMP, in the release.
"Our officers quickly recognized the danger and acted immediately to take him into custody to protect public safety."
Three officers and the man sustained minor injuries in the incident, and two police vehicles were damaged.
Police say they also found a curved knife and methamphetamine in the SUV.
A 38-year-old man from the rural municipality of Reynolds faces 14 charges with relation to the incident, including two counts of assault on police officer with weapon causing bodily harm, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and possession of methamphetamine.
The man is also already facing 14 other charges from unrelated incidents.
A 20-year-old woman from Beausejour, Man., faces three charges from the incident, including possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. She already had four pending charges from previous incidents, police said.
