A Victoria police officer was taken to hospital with a leg injury after being dragged by the van of an impaired driver who fled a traffic stop early Wednesday.
Shortly after 3 a.m., an officer noticed a van turn onto Pandora Avenue from Blanshard Street and drive the wrong way on the one-way street, VicPD said.
The officer activated emergency lights and pulled the van over to investigate if the driver was impaired. Dispatch told the officer that the registered owner of the vehicle had previously been convicted of homicide and had recently told officers “of his desire for a fatal encounter with police.”
More officers came to the scene and two approached the vehicle to speak with the male driver. They noticed clear signs of intoxication, police said.
The driver started the van and tried to speed away, but one officer “became entangled with the vehicle” and was dragged several metres before getting free.
The officer returned to their vehicle and followed the van, despite being injured.
The fleeing driver made the next left turn onto Amelia Street and tried to turn into a driveway on Cormorant Street, where he hit a parked vehicle and a house.
Another officer used a vehicle to trap the van. The driver got out of the van but would not comply with officers’ directions.
Officers deployed “less lethal” bean-bag rounds and a Taser, which were both initially ineffective. They used both again until the Taser brought the man to the ground.
With the man in custody, the officer who had been dragged requested medical attention. Paramedics responded and both the officer and the driver were taken to hospital to be evaluated.
The driver was not injured, and was released back into the custody of police to be taken to cells.
The officer was treated for a leg injury, before being returned to VicPD headquarters to complete the incident file. The officer did not complete the shift, however, and will not be back on the job until they recover, police said.
Crash analysts were called to the scene to investigate the collision, which caused extensive damage to the house and parked vehicle. The home’s occupants were not injured.
The van driver failed a breathalyzer test once in police cells. His vehicle was impounded and he was given a driving prohibition and later released on conditions with a future court date.
The front wall of the house was pushed in and a window shattered, with a broken side mirror, smashed glass and bits of plastic strewn across the driveway Wednesday. City crews were on hand to remove and replace a metal street pole that had been knocked to the ground.
A next-door neighbour said he was woken by the crash, and heard officers telling the man to get down multiple times before popping sounds.
“He still wouldn’t get down, I guess, because they kept yelling at him,” said the neighbour, who declined to give his name.
VicPD is investigating the incident. Anyone with information who has not yet spoken to police is asked to call them at 250-995-7654, extension 1 or report anonymously to Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
