ON the night of Friday, February 12, a Delta Police constable was conducting general patrols in the area of 10100-block of River Road when he attempted to pull over a vehicle. The driver initially slowed down and appeared to pull over, but then took evasive action and fled.

At that time the constable radioed in that the driver fled. The constable then observed the driver turn into a dead-end street. The driver quickly exited the vehicle and started to flee on foot. The constable proceeded to give chase, yelling to the driver that he was under arrest.

The constable caught up with the man, and a struggle ensued, during which time the suspect allegedly threatened the officer, assaulted him, and produced an edged weapon. Other police officers arrived on scene, including a member of the Lower Mainland Integrated Police Dog Service. Together the officers were successful in bringing the suspect under control.

Paramedics were called to conduct an assessment of the accused, and he was lodged in cells later that night. He suffered non-serious injuries during the arrest. The responding constable was taken to hospital for treatment of non-serious injuries suffered during the incident and released.

“Unfortunately, we’ve noticed an increasing trend of drivers attempting to flee from police,’’ said Inspector Ciaran Feenan, who is responsible for frontline policing operations in Delta, on Wednesday. “That type of behaviour puts public safety in jeopardy, and is challenging for our officers who must immediately evaluate the risks and determine appropriate actions. When our officers are faced with people resisting arrest we fall back on our training, which is to take suspects into custody quickly with minimal risks to all involved.”

Police are pursing four charges against the suspect including assault a peace officer with a weapon or cause bodily harm, uttering threats, flight from police and fail to provide a sample.