A Morinville RCMP officer was dragged during a traffic stop for a stolen vehicle at a Shell gas station in Gibbons on Tuesday. RCMP say while officers were on patrol they had a reason to run the license plate of the vehicle. “When he went to approach the vehicle and detain the occupants, the driver of the vehicle was able to start it, put it into drive and began driving away, essentially, and reversing, trapping the officer between the door and the vehicle as it was driving back into him,” RCMP public information officer Troy Savinkoff told CTV News Edmonton. During the altercation the officer was able to pull the keys from the vehicle as it hit a tree. When the officer went to arrest the occupants, the driver pulled out a shotgun from between the seats, left the vehicle and threw it into the bed of the truck, Savinkoff said. There were four people inside the vehicle at the time. They’re all facing a variety of charges, including possession of stolen property, having small amounts of meth and fentanyl, weapons offences and more. The officer involved suffered minor injuries. Savinkoff says this is a reminder of the risks officers take while on patrol. “With each of these drops, usually is because of an arrest of a prolific offender, or those people that we’re focusing on that are causing the most harm to the public,” Savinkoff said. Everyday there are on average 2.2 acts of violence toward RCMP officers in Alberta, RCMP said. “Since 2023, instances of assault on police with a weapon or causing bodily harm have increased 23 per cent,” said Darcy McGunigal with Morinville RCMP in the new release. “While we highlight dropping CSI crime rates and the most recent 18 per cent drop in stolen vehicles compared to last year, don’t forget that with each of these arrests there are men and women on the front lines putting their safety at risk combating these prolific offenders.” All four drivers were remanded into custody and appeared in court on Thursday.
