Surveillance video captured a dramatic takedown during which Vancouver police rammed a vehicle, threw a stun grenade and then sent in a police dog to drag a suspect out of a vehicle.
The video, taken on Aug. 10 in suburban Burnaby, B.C., shows an unmarked SUV police vehicle smash into a car and knock it sideways, causing it to stop. Immediately after, a large black police SUV rolls up.
Two people exit the car and one then gets back in. Police stun grenades set off smoke and police can be seen sending in a police dog, which takes hold of one suspect and drags him out of the smashed car and across the ground.
Const. Jason Doucette from Vancouver Police said his force’s officers executed the unusual operation to “protect public safety and prevent further crimes.”
Doucette said the suspects, a 52-year-old man from Maple Ridge and a 35-year-old man from Abbotsford, were known to police and accused of a break-and-enter at a retail establishment in Abbotsford earlier that day.
Doucette said that “use of force is almost never pretty” but “our officers felt that these steps had to be taken.” He said no one was injured in the intentional car crash but the suspect dragged by the dog was treated for a bite.
Local resident Sharanjit Sumal said she was in her basement when she heard a big boom the day of the arrest. “When we come outside, there’s so many police,” she says. Police had destroyed her car during the arrest, which she called “a pain,” considering it cost time and money to replace.
Bernadine Umali, who lives nearby, said she was “happy that (police) are doing their job.”
with files from CTV.ca