THE GLEBE – A suspected criminal helped himself to an Ottawa police cruiser following a traffic stop that led to constables chasing after their own vehicle.

“(Yesterday, June 2), Central Criminal Investigations have charged a man following an incident (June 1) in the area of Booth and Louisa Streets,” the Ottawa Police Service released in a statement yesterday.

At approximately 6:50 p.m., a frontline officer stopped a vehicle for a highway traffic infraction, seeing the passenger was not wearing a seatbelt.

As the officer approached the vehicle to speak with the passenger, the passenger immediately exited the vehicle and began walking away. 

“He was repeatedly asked to stop and refused,” the OPS said. “He then pushed the officer, fled and a foot pursuit ensued.”

Another officer attended and assisted in locating the suspect nearby. As the second officer attempted to arrest the passenger, the suspect pushed the officer and kept running.   

“The officers caught up to the man, yet another scuffle ensued and officers used OC Spray, which had no effect on him,” the OPS said. “The male again fled and this time, he ran towards the arresting officer’s police vehicle and managed to get into the driver’s seat while both officers attempted to restrain him. The suspect set the vehicle in motion, dragging one of the officers for a short distance as the officer managed to free himself from the moving vehicle.”

The suspect then drove off in the police vehicle, at a high rate of speed, into a nearby park where people were present and he struck a brick wall. Responding officers were able to arrest the suspect without further incident. The arrested suspect provided a false name to officers.

“The ensuing investigation revealed the suspect was James Rush, 35-years-old of no fixed address, and that he was wanted on a warrant for several offences including robbery, possession of a weapon, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, theft of a motor vehicle, dive while prohibited and breach of probation (four counts).”

The suspect suffered a minor injury as a result of his collision. No officers were seriously injured during the incident.

In addition to the previously issued warrant, Rush was charged with:

• Assault with intent to resist or prevent lawful arrest x2
• Dangerous Operation of a Motor Vehicle
• Operation of a Conveyance while Prohibited\
• Flight from Peace Officer
• Theft of a Motor Vehicle
• Obstruct a Peace Officer
• Fail to comply with a Judicial release x4
• Unlawfully Possess Schedule I Substance x3

Rush appeared in court yesterday. The investigation is ongoing.

“Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Ottawa Police Central Criminal Investigation Unit at 613-236-1222, ext. 5166,” the OPS said. “Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or at crimestoppers.ca.”