An officer suffered minor injuries after Halifax Regional Police say a 25-year-old Whites Lake man driving a stolen vehicle backed into an unmarked police vehicle as he tried to evade authorities in a parking lot off Brunswick Street in Halifax.
Police say the incident happened at about 4 p.m. Tuesday as officers from the Central Division Quick Response Unit saw a vehicle with a stolen licence plate in a parking lot. Police say a man was seen leaving the car, and when he returned to get back in, officers attempted to make an arrest. But that’s when the man is alleged to have put the vehicle in reverse and smashed into an unmarked police car.
“When he saw police he slammed it into reverse and backed into the cruiser,” said Constable Brian Palmeter of HRP.
The man was eventually taken into custody after struggling with police in the parking lot, but not before extensive damage was done to both the stolen vehicle and the police cruiser. One of the officers in the arrest was also injured. A quantity of crack cocaine was seized during the arrest.
“I guess you’d call it soft muscle tissue damage,” Palmeter said of the officer’s injuries. “It was minor. He was treated and released.”
Justin Sooley appeared in Halifax provincial court Wednesday facing six charges, including assault with a weapon, assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and possession of stolen property. He was also issued two summary offence tickets for driving without a valid licence and driving without insurance.
