Suspect Rams police vehicle with stolen truck
Mounties in Coaldale are searching for the driver of a stolen truck who rammed a police vehicle on Monday morning.
Staff Sgt. Glenn Henry, with the Coaldale RCMP, said two officers were called to a farmer’s field around 5:30 a.m., where they found a man passed out in the cab of a white Dodge Ram pickup truck.
Henry said one of the Mounties parked a Ford Explorer police vehicle in front of the pickup truck to prevent the driver from driving away.
But as an officer approached the truck, police say, the sleeping man woke up, threw the truck into gear and rammed the police SUV before fleeing the scene.
No officers were injured in the incident, and Henry said the truck was located a few hours later, ditched in a rural area.
Police have confirmed the truck was reported stolen in the Picture Butte area.
“Obviously the person didn’t want to be arrested for being in possession of a stolen vehicle,” Henry said of the man’s run from police.
Mounties gave released images of the suspect captured on the police SUV’s dashcam in hopes someone will recognize the man.
Henry said there have been multiple reports of suspicious vehicles in the Coaldale area recently — including “a white Dodge Ram truck attending several rural locations, possibly stealing fuel” — but police are unable to confirm if the stolen truck was used in any other crimes.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Coaldale Rural RCMP at 403-3295080 or the Coaldale Municipal RCMP at 403-345-5552.
Tips can also be left anonymously by contacting CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.calgarycrimestoppers.org.
Coaldale is about 20 kilometres east of Lethbridge.