Winnipeg’s police helicopter has played another key role in an arrest — this time of a suspect allegedly drunk behind the wheel of a city-owned truck.
The chopper’s crew spotted the 20-year-old man from the air shortly after 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, as he was on foot in a southwest Winnipeg field trying to elude city cops. The chase began after officers responded to a call from a tow truck driver about the 2010 Ford pickup becoming stuck in a snowbank near the intersection of Brady Road and Lee Boulevard, with a suspected impaired man driving it.
“There was quite a bit of heavy snow in and around that area,” police spokeswoman Const. Natalie Aitken said Wednesday, adding the conditions made for tough slogging on foot.
“The helicopter did assist in this case. There was a fairly large field, and this one individual led police on a lengthy ... pursuit.”
A source said the helicopter’s night-vision light allowed officers to see the suspect in the dark, though police said they couldn’t confirm that it was used.
Aitken said she had no information to confirm the City of Winnipeg-registered truck had been driven recklessly in the minutes before hitting the snowbank — something the source had also told the Sun.
Police had no indication of the role the truck plays in the city’s operations. Aitken did not know whether the suspect is a city employee.
It seems, though, the man’s access to the vehicle — which was not stolen — was legitimate.
“It appears that way,” Aitken said. “He’s not being charged with theft or anything like that.”
Apprehended
Assisted by the chopper, officers on the ground apprehended the suspected driver and a male passenger. The second male has not been charged.
The suspect is charged with impaired driving and driving with a blood-alcohol level over 0.08%. Police did not release his name, pending a promise to appear in court.
Mike Davidson, a local president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees that represents 4,600 city workers, did not return a call for comment.
ross.romaniuk@sunmedia.ca