A 25-year-old Indian-origin man has been arrested and charged with multiple offences after reportedly attempting to run over police cruisers in a stolen vehicle in Canada's Ontario area. The incident took place on September 3, at a Tim Hortons drive-thru near Westwood Mall in Mississauga, as officers were trying to apprehend the accused while he was allegedly driving a stolen SUV. The video of the incident was widely shared on social media, in which the red Ford Bronco can be seen striking several police vehicles as the driver is trying to flee from the cops.
Peel Regional Police said the suspect, identified as Ramanpreet Singh of Brampton, CBC Canada reported. As per the report, police were first called to the area after receiving reports that a person in possession of weapons and driving a Ford Bronco had returned to that location after stealing from a nearby store a few weeks ago.
As per the police, the SUV driven by the accused had been stolen in London, Ontario. Police cars surrounded the vehicle to stop the driver from taking off, but the accused tried to get away — and numerous videos shot at the scene posted on social media show him striking many cop cars in the process.
"This was a very dynamic situation...There was a serious potential for not only passersby but officers and the individual himself to get injured seriously from his behaviour," Const. Nikhil Chakravarthy told CBC News in an interview.
"Really, it's unbelievable that the officers were able to resolve this incident without anyone sustaining any injuries," he added. However, as per a police news release issued Wednesday afternoon, the accused in the case suffered minor injuries.
As per Chakravarthy, cops managed to pin the SUV in to prevent the driver from fleeing, "but as you can see in the now-viral videos, the driver tries desperately to break free — and at one point even mounts the front end of one of the cruisers."
Witness David Porca told CBC News that as he was pulling into the parking lot, he saw the SUV on top of one of the police vehicles. "He was trying to get away — going reverse ... driving, smashed one of the cars in the back," he said.
The man then tried to get out through the passenger side window of the SUV, Porca said, before one officer fired a Taser at him.