A Hay River man is facing multiple charges after driving under the influence and fleeing from police Tuesday afternoon.
Around 3:20pm, police say they were notified of an intoxicated man who was trying to break into a home.
By the time officers arrived, witnesses told them the man had left in a vehicle. Following a short search, members were able to find the suspect during a traffic stop.
It was at that point that police say the situation quickly took a turn for the worse.
“As [the officer] was out on foot walking towards the vehicle, the driver then sped off,” RCMP Cst. Samuel Holm told Moose FM.
Police followed the suspect for a short time with lights and sirens on but the man refused to pull over.
When he later accelerated, officers made the judgment call not to pursue him in the interest of public safety.
“Anytime that someone flees from police, situational factors come into play,” said Cst. Holm. “Those are the kinds of judgment calls that are made on scenes like that.
“If it’s determined that the risk of pursuing outweighs the risk of simply shutting down the pursuit at that time, we don’t pursue so that we’re not putting the public at risk.”
Later that night, police located and arrested the man in question, who they say was still intoxicated when he was taken into custody.
Bruce Richardson, 46, has been charged with dangerous driving, impaired driving, flight from police, resisting police, driving while prohibited and failure to comply with a probation order.
He’s scheduled to make a court appearance in Yellowknife at a later date.
