The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is looking for witnesses in connection with a Saturday afternoon suspicious vehicle investigation that involved a CPS member discharging their firearm.

According to ASIRT, at approximately 1:00 p.m. officers responded to the Blackfoot Truckstop after three suspicious vehicles were spotted parked in a triangle.

A CPS member approached one of the vehicles, a silver pickup truck containing a male driver and a teenage girl.

“The officer attempted to speak to the driver through the open passenger window and noted what appeared to be a rifle by the front seat,” said Sue Houston, ASIRT executive director. “The officer yelled commands not to start the vehicle and to keep his visible but the man started the truck, revved the engine and put the truck into reverse.”

The truck backed into a minivan before driving off towards the officer. The CPS member responded by firing a shot at the suspect vehicle.

“The truck fled the parking lot and, in the process, struck several metal posts and a natural gas meter, severing a natural gas line” said Houston.

The vehicle continued for a short distance before colliding with a tree. The suspect exited the truck and attempted to flee on foot with a second officer giving chase. An off-duty officer witnessed the chase and joined in.

The CPS members caught the suspect in a nearby cul-de-sac and the uniformed member deployed a conducted energy weapon. The suspect was apprehended and taken into custody after receiving medical treatment for cuts on his forearm believed to be sustained from shattered windshield glass.

The unnamed suspect remains in police custody on outstanding warrants and charges are pending in connection with the events of Saturday afternoon.

The 15-year-old girl was returned to her legal guardian.

Businesses and homes in the area were evacuated and traffic was halted on several roads amidst fears the severed natural gas line could ignite and explode. Crews successfully repaired the rupture without incident.

ASIRT is asking anyone who witnessed the interaction between the CPS member and the driver of the silver pickup to contact ASIRT investigators at 403-592-4306.