Suspect in Saskatoon police pursuit taken to hospital with dog bite injuries, police say
Chase ended at Circle Drive and Valley Road
A 32-year-old man was taken into custody and then transported to hospital for treatment of dog bite injuries after a police chase of a stolen vehicle ended in Saskatoon Wednesday morning.
The stolen vehicle was reported at 7:53 a.m. CST and the police chase wound through south Saskatoon neighbourhoods, into the downtown and then back to the south side of the city before the man was taken into custody at 8:32 a.m. CST.
Dozens of police cars were involved, and multiple civilian and police vehicles were damaged. Some police officers also fired their weapons.
In the aftermath, the large truck could be seen lying on its side in the grass beside the off-ramp from Circle Drive onto Valley Road. There was a large hole in the windshield, and more than a dozen police cars and a black armoured vehicle were nearby.
Police say the truck was a Ford F-550 owned by a private company that was conducting sewer work at Wiggins Avenue and Cascade Street, in the Adelaide/Churchill neighbourhood.
Police say vehicles 'intentionally' damaged
In an update Wednesday afternoon, Saskatoon police spokesperson Kelsie Fraser said a man on a bicycle rode up to the truck, got in and drove off.
She said police vehicles were damaged in two incidents when the suspect "intentionally struck" them while trying to flee, but no police officers or civilians were injured.
"We are thankful that this turned out the way that it did," Fraser said.
She said the chase ended when a police vehicle intentionally drove into the truck and immobilized it at the Circle Drive off-ramp. The driver was extricated but "was still not compliant" with officers, she said.
He was taken into custody with the help of the canine unit and then transported to hospital for dog bite injuries.
Truck 'blew by' witness
Eyewitness Luke Ryalls was on his way to work, making a right-hand turn from Isabella Street onto Broadway Avenue, when he first saw the truck.
"Suddenly, something blew by me on my right, between me and the curb," he said. "The back of the truck was open and the cable was dangling out of it, and the cable actually banged into my vehicle as it was flying by."
Ryalls called 911, then continued to work. He said he saw police cars at Taylor Street and Lorne Avenue setting up what appeared to be a spike belt on the road.
Then, after he got to work at his office near downtown, he saw the same truck blow by again, this time with "a lot of cop cars" in hot pursuit.
"My other colleague actually was waiting at the intersection at 22nd and Avenue C. She was on her way to work too, and she actually saw it ram a police vehicle at that location," he said.
After the pursuit, at least one damaged police vehicle could be seen at the intersection of 22nd Street W. and Avenue C N. More police tape and officers were also at the intersection of 20th Street W. and Avenue C N.
Police notified Saskatchewan's Serious Incident Response Team, an independent, civilian-led unit responsible for investigating serious incidents involving officers.
However, Fraser said SIRT notified the police that the incident didn't meet their mandate, as no one was seriously injured or killed. Saskatoon police's serious assault unit is now leading the investigation. Charges were still being determined, Fraser said.
Police said in a news release that before he stole the truck, the 32-year-old suspect assaulted a taxi driver, stole their vehicle and then struck a convenience store in the 1500 block of 22nd Street, around 6:40 a.m. CST. The man then entered the store, stole some cash, deployed bear spray and fled on foot, according to the release.
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With files from Dan Zakreski