Man crashes stolen road grader through fence in Portage la Prairie: RCMP
Police say the man fought with officers and paramedics before being arrested and sent to hospital
A 29-year-old man is facing a bundle of charges after he allegedly stole a grader from a City of Portage la Prairie compound and crashed it through a fence.
RCMP officers were called around 9:40 a.m. Monday about a theft in progress at the public works garage in the Manitoba city west of Winnipeg.
The man accused in the theft was still in the compound and wandering around near the machine when officers arrived, but was no longer driving it, RCMP said.
"I don't think it got stuck, based on what the workers were saying. [He] just didn't know how to operate it," said Sgt. Paul Manaigre.
The man refused to comply with officer demands and resisted arrest, fighting with the officers, according to RCMP. As a result of the altercation at the compound and then again at the RCMP detachment — where the man also fought with paramedics — he suffered a non-life-threatening injury and was sent to hospital for examination, police say.
It is believed he was under the influence of a drug, RCMP said in a Tuesday news release.
The man was treated and released from hospital, and then placed back into police custody.
He is facing charges including driving while impaired, theft of a motor vehicle, assault on a police officer (two counts) and mischief over $5,000.