SURREY RCMP OFFICERS ASSAULTED DURING IMPAIRED DRIVING INVESTIGATION

Surrey: One man has been arrested and has been held in custody following a traffic stop that led to an assault on two Surrey RCMP officers.

On February 2, at 8:50 pm, two Surrey RCMP officers conducted a traffic stop, and initiated an impaired driving investigation with a driver in the area of 24 Avenue and 184 Street in Surrey. The driver exited his vehicle and, as police detained him, he allegedly began fighting aggressively and attempted to remove the firearms from their holsters. The man was able to gain access to one of the officers’ Conductive Energy Weapon (CEW), discharging it into his own leg and the officer’s foot. An urgent call for back-up was initiated and officers from both Surrey RCMP and Langley RCMP responded. The driver was arrested and brought to the hospital for evaluation. He was taken into police custody following his release from the hospital.

The driver, a 41-year-old Surrey resident, was arrested for two counts of Assaulting a Peace Officer with a Weapon, two counts of Assault with Intent to Resist Arrest, three counts of Disarming a Peace Officer, one count of Resist Arrest, Impaired Operation of a Conveyance, and Fail or Refuse to Provide Sample.

Both police officers were injured during this incident, they were treated and released from the hospital, and are now recovering.

“The job of policing brings with it a certain amount of risk, especially when we pull over vehicles and interact with a people we may have limited information on,” says Constable Richard Wright, Surrey RCMP. “This incident serves as an example of how quickly a situation can change for police, especially when a suspected intoxicated individual is involved.”