Canada

Police blotter

Our regular round-up of oddball criminal complaints from around the country

British Columbia: The police chief in Victoria was driving in his unmarked Dodge Charger when a motorcyclist whizzed past him, going 123 km/h in a 50-km/h zone. The chief turned on his sirens, tracked down the speedster and doled out a $483 fine.

Alberta: A Calgary woman was arrested after rampaging through the city’s downtown streets behind the wheel of a Jeep. The driver allegedly smashed into several parked vehicles. After an hour-long chase involving a helicopter and several cruisers, police finally stopped her. She reportedly threatened them with a knife before being arrested.

Manitoba: When two people in Winnipeg refused a man’s request for a smoke, he allegedly whipped a sawed-off shotgun out of the waistband of his pants before firing it off. The man was arrested, and police seized a duffle bag full of beer and ammunition.

Quebec: A trio of would-be art thieves failed to steal La Défaite, a $1-million sculpture by Jean-Paul Riopelle, the late Montreal-born artist. A security guard came across the thieves in the yard of the Riopelles’ home in the Laurentians as they were boosting the sculpture into a van. After they fled, police found the statue, broken but salvageable, in the nearby woods. The Riopelles think the robbers didn’t know what they had their hands on, and were likely planning to sell the artwork for scrap metal.

New Brunswick: On the night of July 31, police found a man drinking in his car with the motor running. When they arrested him, he kicked out a window in the police cruiser. The next day, at a family barbecue in Pennfield, he allegedly flipped a table, hit someone with a rock, punched someone else in the face and fell down a flight of stairs. Then, prosecuters say, he threatened to get a shotgun and shoot somebody. Last week, he pled guilty to several charges. A Crown prosecutor called the man’s ordeal “one big long, drunken weekend.”

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.