Westlock RCMP got some help from Barrhead, Athabasca and the Emergency Response Team in bringing and armed standoff to a safe resolution earlier this month.
Cpl. Dennis Properzi said an officer in Westlock tried to pull a vehicle over around 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 17, after determining it had been reported stolen from the Edmonton area.
The driver of the vehicle tried to evade police, but couldn’t because of a mechanical problem. When police told the two occupants of the vehicle to get out, they were informed they had a firearm in the vehicle and “police needed to back off.”
Properzi said police contained the area, about five miles northwest of Westlock, until the Emergency Response Team, which is like a SWAT unit, could get on scene.
“There was a resident present, but we were able to get in touch with them immediately and advise we were there and there was a bad situation,” he said. “In town it would have been a totally different set of challenges … but out in a rural setting you take it all into consideration.”
Once ERT, a canine unit, and armoured vehicle and a helicopter were in position, an RCMP crisis negotiator continued to communicate with the vehicle’s occupants. Police safely arrested a 36-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman.
Properzi wouldn’t identify the two, but said they both have a last known address in Edmonton. He added one of the two has family in the Westlock area.
Both have been charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000 and firearms offences in relation to a sawed-off shotgun police recovered. A court date has been set for early October, he added.
It’s not unusual for a rural RCMP detachment to rely on mutual aid with its neighbours — especially in the case of Barrhead which shares a radio channel with the Westlock detachment — but also with any other neighbouring detachment.
“We’re all on the same team,” Properzi said. “In Athabasca or Morinville, if they get ahold of us and say they’re having a problem and there’s a member in a rural area who needs a bit of help, we’ll drop everything and fly out there as long as we’re not dealing with something that can’t be put on the back burner.”
As for the canine unit and the ERT, having that extra firepower can mean a great deal in tense situations like this recent armed standoff.
“If we need that extra firepower or extra resources, they’re awesome to have,” he said. “Their skills and training are one up over us.”
Properzi emphasized this kind of situation taking place in Westlock is quite rare, but not entirely unheard of, and he’s just happy this potentially dangerous situation was resolved peacefully.
“I’m not going to say it’s a one-time thing, but it’s not something we often come across,” he said. “It worked out, fortunately. Everybody was safe and that’s our main goal.”
