If you’re going to make the poor decision to run from a police officer, you might not want to do so two blocks from a police station.
Early one recent morning, a VPD traffic officer was driving south on the Cambie Street Bridge toward VPD headquarters. He pulled over a driver going 110 km/hr at Cambie and West 7th Avenue, where the posted speed limit is 50 km/hr.
The officer noticed that the driver appeared to be nervous and was shaking, and believed it was due to the speeding ticket. He took the keys to the vehicle and identified the driver with his driver’s licence. He informed the man he was getting a ticket for excessive speeding and that his vehicle would be impounded.
The driver got out of the car and ran west on West 7th, as the officer broadcast a description over his police radio. As the suspect made his way toward West 1st Avenue, close to the police parking lot, officers from headquarters raced to apprehend him. Other members watching from upper floors at headquarters were able to advise the pursuing officers of the suspect’s location. He was found hiding in a forested gully just off West 1st Avenue.
Once the suspect was in custody, the traffic officer searched his vehicle and found an open safe inside, which contained a large quantity of drugs. The driver was arrested and taken to jail for possession for the purpose of trafficking, obstruct peace officer, and trafficking.
