Nanaimo RCMP used a police dog to arrest a man who was ranting and walking into traffic on Monday.
An off-duty officer was driving with his police dog, Herc, about 9:20 a.m. when he saw the incident unfold at Esplanade and Terminal avenues. He pulled into a parking lot and used his police radio to alert other officers.
He then followed the man with his truck to Albert and Cavan streets, where the man was ranting and approached several citizens, police said.
The officer got out of his truck with Herc and tried to talk to the man, but he told them to leave and made death threats. He told the officer he was upset because his suitcase had been stolen.
Police said the man was sweating profusely and acting erratically, and continued to walk into traffic.
More officers arrived, and the man was told he was under arrest and ordered to the ground.
When the man did not comply, Herc was deployed and the man was arrested.
“This was an extremely volatile situation with significant risk to the man, the general public and the officer,” said Const. Gary O’Brien. “Considering all the risk factors, the officer and Herc performed admirably.”
The 47-year-old man was taken to hospital and treated for several puncture wounds. He was then transported to police cells and released later in the day with a court-appearance notice for one count of uttering threats.
The arresting officer later found out that the man had been flagged as violent after previous encounters with police, and had admitted at the hospital that he had consumed a large amount of cocaine that day.
He is scheduled to be in court in November.
