Kelowna RCMP officers, with guns drawn, arrested two people in a stolen vehicle at KLO and Benvoulin yesterday.
Just after 10:30 a.m., officers located a black Chevrolet pickup which had been reported stolen in Alberta.
An officer had located the stolen vehicle last week but the driver had fled when the member attempted to conduct a traffic stop.
In the interest of maintaining public safety, police did not pursue the vehicle at that time.
This morning (July 19, 2021) officers in unmarked vehicles with the assistance of the RCMP Air Services helicopter located the stolen vehicle and covertly followed it.
“The police helicopter was able to maintain public safety and provide updates as to the location of the vehicle,” says Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy of the Kelowna RCMP. “Officers took their time and waited to intercept the driver when it would be safest to do so.”
Just before 2:30 p.m., Kelowna RCMP attempted to stop the stolen vehicle near the intersection of KLO Road and Benvoulin Road in Kelowna.
When officers approached, the driver of the suspect vehicle struck several police and civilian vehicles in an attempt to escape, but was unsuccessful.
The male driver and female passenger of the stolen vehicle were taken into custody.
“Our officers did a great job in attempting to mitigate the risk in this incident,” says Cpl. Noseworthy. “Though there was some damage to vehicles, no one was injured and two suspects are in custody.”
This matter is still under investigation, and no further information will be released at this time.