Truck rams police vehicles, ends up on Main Street sidewalk

A stolen pickup truck rammed two police tactical support vehicles and drove up onto a Main Street sidewalk as its driver tried to escape arrest on Monday afternoon, Winnipeg police say.

Multiple police vehicles blocked the southbound lanes and west sidewalk of Main Street near JarvisAvenue as the scene unfolded in an area that usually has plenty of pedestrian traffic.

"The way it was described to me is that it happened very quickly and that this male literally stepped on the gas at full speed in an attempt to ram the cruiser car," Winnipeg police Const. Tammy Skrabek said.

"Main Street, particularly in the afternoon, is a very populated area," but luckily no pedestrians were injured, she said.

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Police released few details on Monday but on Tuesday they said multiple weapons- and drug-related charges have been laid against four people in the truck. As well, they say, there were five outstanding warrants for the driver.

The incident happened after police tried to stop the truck, which had been reported stolen from Toshack Road in West St. Paul, just north of Winnipeg, a Winnipeg Police Service news release said.

The black 2010 GMC Sierra was stolen sometime Sunday night, police said.

Members of Winnipeg police's drug enforcement team spotted the truck on Sutherland Avenue around 1:50 p.m. Monday and recognized the driver.

"Officers were able to identify the driver as somebody who was known to police through the drug subculture and gang subculture, and given that information, it's realistic to assume that drugs and weapons may or may not be involved," Skrabek said.

The tactical support team was brought in and, with help from general patrol and street crime officers, they approached the truck on Main Street, where it had stopped.

"It wasn't driving, so at that point there wasn't a concern for, necessarily, traffic in the area."

The driver of the pickup rammed one of the tactical support team vehicles, then reversed around it and drove up onto the sidewalk, police said.

Tactical support police boxed the truck in with their vehicles, and it again rammed one of them, this time head-on, causing significant damage to both vehicles, police said.A police officer injured in the takedownwas taken to hospital in stable condition, treated and released

Police seized two sawed-off,12-gauge shotguns, a sawed-off .22-calibre rifle, a black replica handgun and 35 grams of methamphetamine from the truck.

A Winnipeg man, 35, who was driving the truck is charged with 20 offences, including four charges of possessing a weapon, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon and possession of methamphetamine for the purposes of trafficking.

He was already wanted on five separate outstanding arrest warrants.

The three passengers, women aged 20, 27 and 28, also face multiple weapons charges as well as one methamphetamine trafficking charge each.

All four are being held in the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

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