A man was arrested after a Victoria police officer was struck by a driver in a stolen vehicle in the 900-block of Pandora Avenue Monday morning.
Police said that at about 8:30 a.m., the officer, who was assisting city bylaw staff, was standing next to a police vehicle when he was struck by another vehicle that approached from behind. No other officers were injured.
Witnesses said the officer was pinned under the vehicle.
The vehicle driver was arrested at the scene and transported to VicPD cells. He was not injured and did not require medical attention, police said.
The injured officer was taken to hospital by B.C. Emergency Health Services paramedics with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Vehicle traffic in the 900-block of Pandora Avenue was closed while the incident was investigated. A black sedan with a damaged bumper that appeared to have crashed into a dumpster on the road and a police SUV with damage to its side were behind police tape Monday morning. The road reopened to vehicles at noon.
A witness who declined to give his name said he saw a black sedan sideswipe a police vehicle, before careening into a dumpster on the road, hitting it hard enough to move it.
The witness said officers moved in to arrest the driver, and he saw one officer on the ground, pinned by the car. He and others tried to lift the vehicle off the officer before they were removed from the scene, he said.
Another witness said the officer “went flying” when he was struck.
Grant McKenzie, communications director for Our Place Society, said the injured officer has worked on the block for about a decade and is well-known and well-liked by staff and community members.
“It’s been a long-term relationship, and a good relationship, so we definitely want to send our best wishes to him and his family,” McKenzie said.
He wasn’t there when Our Place clients joined police and bylaw officers to lift the car off the pinned officer, but McKenzie said it’s always encouraging to see the community come together to help each other.
VicPD Chief Del Manak said it’s too early to determine a motive, if any, for the incident, in a tweet thanking residents for their show of support.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the VicPD non-emergency line at 250-995-7654. To make an anonymous report, call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
