Meth cited for rise in police chases
Inspector says street drug likely behind behaviour of suspects evading officers
Austin Eaglechief died in an explosion of bent steel and broken glass on a warm night last June, as he led Saskatoon police officers on a highspeed chase across the north end.
The apparently drug-fuelled incident began shortly after 9 p.m. on June 19, 2017, when officers tried to stop the stolen pickup driven by the 22-year-old man on a quiet cul-de-sac in River Heights.
It ended just a few minutes later after Eaglechief rammed the police cruiser, after one of the officers fired two rounds at the fleeing truck, and after it plowed into another vehicle turning left on Airport Drive.
The chase was one of the most dramatic “evade police” incidents reported last year, a 12-month period in which the number of pursuits involving Saskatoon police officers grew dramatically. Police blame the popular street drug methamphetamine for the spike in chases reported in 2017 — an increase of more than 40 per cent — while hoping it’s an irregularity.
“The uptick in the number of pursuits, it’s … what we’re hoping is an anomaly. It’s hard to determine that as a trend after one year,” said Russ Friesen, an inspector in the investigative division.
Officers responded to 208 evade police incidents last year, compared to 148 in 2016, according to an internal report submitted to the Board of Police Commissioners last week. Those chases, 131 of which were aborted, resulted in 93 arrests, 61 damaged vehicles (including 10 police cruisers) 17 injured suspects and one hurt civilian, according to the report.
By comparison, officers aborted 90 of the 148 chases reported in 2016, which ended in 79 arrests, 64 damaged vehicles and 10 injured suspects, the four-page document stated.
In an interview on Tuesday, Friesen said meth addiction is thought to be behind the “crimes of opportunity” that result in stolen vehicles, at least 54 of which were involved in police chases last year. The drug — which police Chief Troy Cooper and his predecessor, Clive Weighill, have linked to rising crime rates — is also likely responsible for suspects’ behaviour behind the wheel, he added.
“There was an increase, and that’s the downside. The upside is our members are disengaging sooner rather than later, to keep the public safety, so that’s a positive sign for us.”
The average chase inside city limits lasted one minute, eight seconds less than the year before, the report states. Friesen acknowledged the difference doesn’t seem like much, but said a lot can happen in those eight seconds.
Speaking at the police board meeting last week, Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said he looks forward to a downward trend in the number of chases this year.
According to the report, police reported 78 pursuits in the first five months of 2018, compared to 88 over the same period last year. Cooper and Friesen said that’s encouraging.
“One year is not a trend,” the newly appointed police chief told the meeting.
The report also outlines steps police have taken to curb pursuits, including new restrictions on the offences that can trigger chases and multiple efforts to reduce vehicle thefts.
While making it clear he is not blaming the public, Friesen said the solutions are more education about the dangers of leaving keys in vehicles, and continued enforcement of “methamphetamine problems.”
“We’ll make a determination as of next year depending on if we’re up or down — and of course all hopes are that it will be down — that we can come up with different initiatives at the time.”