Two charged in RCMP pursuit
RCMP VEHICLES DAMAGED, SHOT FIRED
A man and a woman are facing several charges following a high-speed vehicle chase Wednesday that saw three RCMP vehicles damaged, and an officer discharge their firearm.
Raymond RCMP received a call around 2 p.m. from a citizen who reported his Dodge pickup truck, which had been stolen in May, was at a residence in Raymond. Officers from the Raymond detachment responded and saw the truck leaving the residence as they arrived.
They attempted to do a traffic stop, but the stolen vehicle reversed and hit the police car, causing enough damage to disable it.
A second Raymond RCMP officer, who was on his way to the scene, pursued the truck, which left Raymond and eventually entered a field. The truck rammed the second officer’s marked police vehicle, rendering it inoperable. An RCMP member discharged their service pistol during this incident.
Officers then requested assistance from surrounding RCMP detachments, as well as Lethbridge and Taber Police and the Calgary Police Service HAWCS helicopter.
Members from the Coaldale, Picture Butte and Bow Island detachments located the vehicle a short time later. The vehicle once again fled at a high rate of speed. It subsequently entered a field near the town of Foremost.
The pursuit took place over nearly two hours and 100 kilometres of provincial highway, with speeds up to 170 km/h.
Based on the behaviour of the suspect vehicle and the resulting risk to public safety, a supervisor authorized the use of a marked police vehicle to make contact with the stolen vehicle and prevent it from continuing to flee. The two occupants were arrested there without further incident.
Inside the vehicle, investigators located a rifle, a shotgun and a loaded sawed off shotgun.
The driver of the stolen vehicle, 31-year-old Joshua Schmaltz from Medicine Hat, was wanted on numerous charges including forcible confinement, assault and escaping lawful custody.
The passenger of the stolen vehicle, 39-year-old Lori Malinsky from Taber, was also wanted for several offences including theft, possession of stolen property and flight from police. Additional charges relating to Wednesday’s events have yet to be sworn.
The officer involved in the first collision sustained minor injuries, was treated at hospital and released. No other officers or the suspects were injured.
As required by the Alberta Police Act, provincial authorities were notified of the officerinvolved shooting. That incident is being investigated separately from the pursuit by the RCMP Serious Crimes Branch.
“The RCMP officers involved in the pursuit and subsequent arrest of the suspects put themselves in harms way in order to protect the public,” said superintendent Garrett Woolsey, Assistant District Officer for Southern Alberta RCMP, in a release. “This is an example of some of the great work and sacrifices the men and women of the RCMP make every day in order to keep the people of the Province of Alberta safe.”
He also thanked the Calgary, Lethbridge and Taber Police Services for their assistance in “bringing this to a safe and successful resolution.”