Man charged after police pursuit

A police pursuit that began downtown early Sunday ended in St. Vital after officers deployed a spike strip to stop the vehicle.

Police first spotted a red Dodge Ram 1500 doing burnouts at the intersection of William Avenue and King Street shortly after 1 a.m. Nuit Blanche Winnipeg was going on at the time, and there was heavy pedestrian traffic, the Winnipeg Police Service said Monday.

“When officers attempted a traffic stop, the driver continued to drive recklessly before fleeing towards Main Street. A second traffic stop was attempted, but the driver ignored officers’ directions to exit the vehicle and fled at a high rate of speed southbound on Main Street,” police said.

A police helicopter tracked the driver heading east on Traverse Avenue near Kitson Street, where officers put down a tire deflation device and punctured multiple tires, the WPS said.

The suspect stopped at the intersection of Dakota Street and St. Mary’s Road, where officers used their vehicles to box the truck in. The driver rammed a police vehicle before officers arrested him as he tried to flee on foot, WPS said.

Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the incident, police said.

A 24-year-old man is facing numerous charges, including assaulting a peace officer, impaired driving and fleeing from police. He was released on an appearance notice.