Driver in rush-hour chase appears in court

The suspect in a dangerous, rushhour pursuit last Friday that ended in a police-involved shooting made his first court appearance Thursday.

A student for defence counsel Stephen Bitzer, who has not yet been retained, appeared in provincial court and asked that Christopher Dwight Leaming ’s case be adjourned to next week to allow him to hire a lawyer.

Leaming, 23, who appeared via closed-circuit TV, did not address court during the brief proceeding.

He faces multiple charges, including dangerous driving and flight from police, in connection with an incident that saw motorists forced to avoid an oncoming stolen truck.

Police first observed the truck shortly after 4 p.m. southbound on Edmonton Trail, and the HAWCS helicopter and tactical units tracked it as it drove throughout south Calgary, at times into oncoming traffic and on sidewalks, they said in a news release.

Concerned for public safety, police made the decision to stop the truck at about 5 p.m.

Multiple police vehicles boxed in the stolen Ford F-150, which had been travelling northbound in the southbound lanes of Macleod Trail, outside Ranchman’s dance hall, just south of 90th Avenue.

A police tactical team member opened fire, but no one was struck.

Because a police firearm was discharged, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has been directed to conduct an investigation.