Police chase follows alleged threats

OTTAWA • A Gatineau man accused of making threats directed at Quebec politicians is facing a slew of charges after he led police on a chase Wednesday night, nearly struck an officer with his car, then resisted arrest as officers used a Taser to subdue him.

The man, in his 40s, was eventually arrested outside his home in the Mont-luc neighbourhood, Gatineau police said Thursday, where the joint operation between provincial police and the local Gatineau force reached a dramatic conclusion Wednesday evening.

The man, whose name is not being released pending a court appearance where charges will be formally laid, was initially accused of making threats on Facebook regarding Quebec’s policies on COVID-19.

The threat involves an unnamed politician and was posted to the man’s personal social media account on Tuesday, which was the date Quebec announced its intention to mandate vaccine passports.

The message contained a reference to Sept. 1, the date the passports are to be implemented, and included the message: “You will remember me.”

He also posted a picture of himself posing with a gun. Police would later seize guns from his home.

Sgt. Audrey-anne Bilodeau said Sûreté du Québec secured a search warrant for the man’s residence, and asked Gatineau police for assistance.

Officers first tried to intercept him while he was driving on Boulevard La Vérendrye around 7 p.m. Wednesday, but after stopping, Bilodeau said, the suspect took off in the opposite direction.

“He refused to obey the officer’s orders and fled the opposite direction,” said Bilodeau.

Before he fled, the man struck a Sûreté du Québec cruiser with his vehicle, and nearly ran over a Gatineau police officer who was standing on the roadside.

When he was physically restrained, he still tried to punch an officer, said Gatineau police agent Renéeanne St-amant. Officers deployed a Taser to subdue the man, and he was taken to hospital for observation.

He is due to appear in court facing a number of charges, including obstruction, assaulting an officer, assaulting an officer with a weapon, flight from police and reckless driving.