Saskatoon police fired at suspect vehicle during chase that ended with 1 dead
Police say 2 shots fired at stolen truck after cruiser rammed in cul-de-sac
Police fired two shots at the occupants of a stolen truck after it rammed their vehicle in a chase that ended with a violent collision and one man dead.
The 22-year-old driver of the stolen truck died after crashing into another vehicle at a speed of 150 kilometres per hour near the Saskatoon airport just after 9 p.m. CST Monday.
Saskatoon Police Chief Clive Weighill said on Tuesday it does not appear the man's death was related to a gunshot wound, but his cause of death has not been confirmed. An autopsy will be performed.
The driver of the other vehicle was not seriously injured.
Officer fired at stolen truck
In a news release, police said the incident began when patrol officers spotted the stolen truck in the area of Avenue D N. and 33rd Street W. It had been reported stolen at about 3:45 a.m. on Monday.
I thought it was a gunshot. I just ducked.- Marsha Kirsch
The air support unit tracked the truck to Clearwater Place, where officers allegedly saw two males and a female exit the vehicle. But police said the two men got back inside the truck when officers attempted a traffic stop.
Police said the truck rammed a police cruiser, pushing it about 30 metres, off the cul-de-sac and into a driveway. An officer responded by firing two shots at the stolen truck.
A female police constable suffered non-life-threatening injuries when the cruiser was rammed.
Eyewitnesses hear shots
At first, eyewitnesses said they heard what they initially believed was a truck backfiring, as the truck roared into the crescent.
They then watched the truck smash into the police cruiser. One man jumped out and ran toward a nearby park.
"I was standing here and I heard this screech," said Marsha Kirsch. "I opened the door and I saw this black truck came screeching around the corner there, with a police car following him."
People in the area said they heard multiple shots fired.
"I thought it was a gunshot," said Kirsch. "I just ducked."
'I saw a flash of black'
Police continued to track the vehicle from the air as it allegedly hit speeds of 150 kilometres per hour on Circle Drive.
As it reached the intersection with Airport Drive, it smashed into another passing vehicle, police say, bringing both vehicles to an abrupt and violent halt.
Noel LaBrash was turning left onto Airport Drive when the stolen truck sped through the red light and smashed into him.
"When I noticed that something wasn't right, it was pretty much brace for impact," he said. "I saw a flash of black, and then the collision happened."
LaBrash said he's fortunate he wasn't seriously hurt.
"After he hit me, I remember seeing red and blue lights of the police cars flashing," he said, "and then hearing officers getting out of their vehicles and obviously telling the person running from them to 'show us your hands.'"
A witness told CBC News the stolen vehicle belongs to his friend. He said he saw the vehicle travelling at high speeds prior to the crash and he recognized it.
"He was flying," Brett Bloski said.
Bloski said the crash was 10 minutes after he saw the driver on 51st Street.
Driver dead, passenger charged
Weighill said police have a strict policy on when to initiate or end pursuits.
He said the urgency of apprehending the driver had increased after the female constable was injured.
"Absolutely, when a police officer gets injured our officers are going to heighten their ability to try and bring that to a conclusion," said Weighill.
The 22-year-old driver of the stolen truck was pronounced dead at the scene.
A firearm and ammunition were located inside the truck.
The passenger of the suspect vehicle, aged 33, was transported to hospital as a precaution and has since been released into police custody.
He was arrested on outstanding warrants for the possession of proceeds of crime, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, theft, possession of property obtained by crime, obstruction of a police officer, aggravated assault and unlawful confinement.
Prior to the collision, the stolen truck had been involved in another incident where its driver tried to flee police, and it was the subject of a report of suspicious activity in north Saskatoon.
Police chief frustrated by keys left in vehicles
Speaking at the news conference on Tuesday, Weighill expressed his frustration that the vehicle's keys were inside it when it was stolen.
He said 60-65 per cent of the vehicles stolen in Saskatoon were taken when the keys were inside.
"This is the fourth fatality we've had in two years now stemming from vehicles that have been stolen with keys in them," he said.
He said the vehicle thieves were typically young men, who targeted trucks because they were hard to stop and they can ram other vehicles.
Police chases doubled in 2016
According to data released in a report that went before the Board of Police Commissioners in May, there were 148 police pursuits in 2016 — more than double the 61 police chases the year before.
The majority of police chases last year involved stolen vehicles.
The chases themselves resulted in 79 arrests and led to at least 10 suspects being injured.
