SPEDDEN - St. Paul RCMP have released new information regarding an incident April 15 that saw four people arrested after multiple reports were received of a suspicious vehicle cruising rural properties in the Smoky Lake, Bellis, Vilna and Spedden areas.
According to the updated information, a St. Paul RCMP officer was assaulted and a taser had to be deployed during the arrest of one of the suspects.
St. Paul RCMP members were patrolling the Spedden area assisting Smoky Lake RCMP in locating the suspect vehicle “involved in numerous breaks and enters in their detachment area.” The vehicle was located by a St. Paul RCMP officer parked at the Spedden gas station.
“Four occupants were on scene during the initial traffic stop, two of which fled the scene immediately,” according to the updated police report. “The truck was quickly determined to have been stolen out of Wetaskiwin, AB at which time the responding member informed the two remaining vehicle occupants on scene they were under arrest. While attempting to place the male suspect in handcuffs, the male proceeded to assault the arresting RCMP officer and attempted to flee the scene on foot. After a several minute struggle, the officer was able to arrest the suspect with the assistance of a CEW Conductive Energy Weapon, commonly referred to as a Taser.”
The RCMP officer sustained what were described as minor cuts and abrasions and was treated by EMS and released on scene.
St. Paul Police Dog Services (PDS) were called in and located the two outstanding suspects hiding on a deck of an abandoned house in Spedden. They were arrested without further incident.
“These incidents highlight the dangers of police work and the violence our members face far too often. I’m proud of the response of our members during these recent calls for service and I’m thankful no one was seriously hurt or killed during these interactions. We want the public to know what we are up against out there and that we are doing the best we can,” Sgt. Bobby Burgess Operations NCO St Paul Detachment stated, referring to this incident and a separate one that occurred April 11 in Saddle Lake where RCMP were shot at by a suspect.
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