‘Hey! That’s my car!’

File picture: sxc.hu

File picture: sxc.hu

Published Aug 22, 2014

Share

Ottawa -

Red-faced Canadian federal police launched a review of their arrest and detention procedures on Thursday after a drunk driving suspect stole an arresting officer's police car and sped off.

The 25-year-old suspect had been restrained and placed in the rear of a police cruiser while officers dealt with others at the scene of a road accident west of Calgary, Alberta, earlier this week.

Suddenly, the officers “observed the police vehicle departing the area”, according to a statement.

They pursued the stolen car but lost it in a cloud of dust on a rural dirt road, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Mel Calahasen told AFP.

A tip three days later led authorities to the car and the suspect, who has been charged with impaired driving, escaping police custody and car theft.

“This sort of thing happens, but it's a rarity,” Calahasen said. “We're doing an administrative review now to see how it can be prevented in the future.”

He noted that RCMP vehicles are equipped with global positioning system (GPS) tracking, but the suspect had disabled it. - Sapa-AFP

Related Topics: