North Bay Police have arrested a 45-year-old man from Timmins following a car chase that ended with officers using a taser to take the man down. According to police, just before 10:30pm yesterday they were contacted by the OPP about a stolen pickup truck from South River that had been spotted on Highway 11 headed towards North Bay. The OPP chased the vehicle onto Lakeshore Drive, where they deployed a spike belt but the driver drove around it and continued on. At this point, the OPP stopped pursuing the truck near the Steve Omischl Sports Field Complex.
A local patrol officer found the vehicle shortly after, and followed it until other cruisers arrived to help him. They tried an in-tandem stop, but the truck drove around the cruisers and continued down Lakeshore. At this point, police initiated a pursuit of their own and deployed a spike belt at Lakeshore Drive and Judge Avenue. It managed to successfully deflate the truck’s front right tire.
The driver kept going even with a deflated tire towards Algonquin Avenue, but the pursuit ended after he drove off the road behind a restaurant on Algonquin and Maplewood Avenue and ran into a fence. Officers tried to pry the driver out of the vehicle, but he refused and fought with them instead. At this point officers used a taser to subdue and arrest him. The man is facing five charges in total, including assault with intent to resist arrest and dangerous driving. He was held in custody for a bail hearing today.
