The Canadian Press(CP)
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EDMONTON — Nearly a dozen Edmonton police vehicles, including a helicopter and a dog handler, chased an ambulance that was stolen by a violent patient early Monday morning as it sped north of the city before getting stuck in a snowy field.
EMS spokesperson Nikki Booth said the two-person crew had been responding to a call for an apparent drug overdose at the city’s downtown convention centre, and were in the back of the ambulance trying to treat a patient when he became “extremely violent and dangerous.”
“The individual went from being in the back of the ambulance to climbing into the cabin and taking the ambulance for a joyride with lights and sirens,” Booth explained.
The two paramedics were able to get out of the ambulance before the man started his joyride.
A police source, who didn’t want to be identified, told Canadian Press that the suspect drove erratically for several kilometres, sometimes reaching speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour as he swerved the vehicle through intersections, heading toward the city’s northern edge.
No one was hurt as the vehicle, with lights and sirens wailing, weaved through major city intersections.
The suspect abandoned the ambulance after crashing it in a snowy field at Edmonton Garrison, a military base on the city’s outskirts.
The police source said that police units abandoned their pursuit several blocks before the man ditched the vehicle to allow a police helicopter to illuminate the suspect with its bright spot light as he floundered through the snowy field on foot.
A short time later, a police dog handler, identified by CHED Radio as Const. Kelly Surman, arrested the suspect with the help of his German shepherd police dog named Chic.
Police from the city’s military base were also called in to respond to the incident.
Booth said as the ambulance was fleeing north, some motorists apparently thought it was on a legitimate call and got out of the way.
Gerry Wiles, president of the paramedic union, said the paramedics had put cloth restraints on the man, but he managed to get out of them.
“The crew did the right thing. They feel threatened, they get out — let him have the ambulance,” Wiles said.
The police source told Canadian Press that it’s likely that, at a minimum, the suspect could face charges of auto theft and being in possession of stolen property.
The man’s name and charges weren’t available Monday.