Brandon police officer stabbed

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/11/2015 (3934 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon Police Service officer who was stabbed three times while trying to make an arrest in relation to a suspected arson is expected to be OK, police say.

The officer was stabbed during a confrontation at Brandon University this evening and two males are in custody, police report. The injured officer was in hospital as of Monday evening but expected to be alright.

"He’s good, he’s talking," Brandon Police Service Sgt. Kevin McLean said. "He’s in stable condition at the hospital."

The incident began as an investigation into a suspected arson on the 1200 block of Rosser Avenue. The fire began around 4:30 p.m. in what is believed to be one of the suites in the building.

There’s no word of any injuries from that small fire, but the fire department reports that the sprinkler system assisted greatly in putting it out. The Office of the Fire Commissioner is investigating.

McLean said that a witness spotted suspects heading toward Brandon University.

Around 5:30 p.m. a BPS officer approached two suspects at Brandon University along the 2000 block of Louise Avenue — a 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy.

When the officer approached the older suspect to make an arrest, that suspect began to fight, McLean said. Unknown to the officer, the man was armed with a knife and he was stabbed three times.

The officer was stabbed twice in the leg, and once in his side. The blow to his side nicked his lung, McLean said, but it didn’t appear serious.

Fire and paramedics personnel were called to an "officer down", and minutes after the call a male could be seen on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back. Officers picked him up and placed him in the back of a police SUV.

A plainclothes officer was checking on someone in the back of an ambulance, presumably the police officer involved. After several minutes the ambulance left, and the officer was taken to hospital.

A woman who was working out on a treadmill at the Healthy Living Centre across the street witnessed the struggle between the officer and a suspect. She said she saw a police vehicle pull up, and then a police officer talking to a male who then "jumped" him.

"The guy just jumped him… down they went and then I lost track of who was who," said the woman didn’t provide her name. "You’re just so stunned watching it."

At one of the combatants then got up, and police vehicles arrived on scene.

The man and youth are both in custody in relation to the arson investigation and the incident at BU, McLean said. The youth was found with bear spray, but it wasn’t used during the assault on the officer.

The officer who was stabbed is a 31-year-old who has been on the force for six years, McLean said. McLean also confirmed that the officer is married with a young child, about four to six months old.

» ihitchen@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @IanHitchen