Skip to content

RCMP ensure Stampede Week is safe for everyone

.

It was a busy week for Ponoka RCMP as extra resources were brought in from neighbouring detachments to combat the influx of people in Ponoka for the Stampede.

• More than 150 people were jailed throughout the week with the number 1 cause being public intoxication.

• A 9-1-1 call was received regarding a suspicious man brandishing a knife on the carnival grounds. Police arrested a 30-year-old man from Hobbema who was in possession of a 14-inch kitchen knife and charged him with possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace.

• Four youths were caught breaking into vehicles in the early morning hours June 28. The suspects were observed by an off duty police officer rummaging through vehicles. The officer managed to catch one of the young offenders and the other three were caught later that evening.

• An accident on Highway 2 resulted in collateral damage June 30. A vehicle and trailer travelling north rolled in the median just north of the Lacombe exit. The accident caused traffic to back up on the highway and resulted in several other collisions.

• Two people were arrested and charged with an indecent act in public after they were caught having sex on a roof in the 4400 block of 46th Street. A 25-year-old man and 19-year-old woman were charged in the incident July 1.

• Police received a complaint of a possible knife fight outside of a downtown bar July 1. RCMP couldn’t locate the weapon but one individual who was more than critical of officers was arrested. The man, a 45-year-old Ponoka resident, verbally assaulted the officers and was warned several times to stop. He persisted with the verbal barrage and then resisted arrest when officers attempted to subdue him.

• Police were called downtown after two men were reported smashing windows out of parked vehicles. A 16-year-old youth and 18-year-old man have been charged with mischief.

• Throughout the week, RCMP issued five impaired, many traffic and liquor tickets and two driving with a suspended license fines.

Traffic operation leads to several busts

Ponoka police worked in tandem with RCMP Traffic Enforcement Units along Highway 2 to conduct a traffic operation July 1, focusing on speed, aggressive drivers and other provincial traffic statues. The results are as follows — speeding: 187, other moving: 6, warrants executed: 6, seat belt: 3, non-moving: 21, criminal code other: 3, liquor offences: 5, careless driving: 1, drugs: 2, suspended drivers: 1, impaired drivers: 2, 24-hour suspensions: 2, vehicle equipment: 12, dangerous driving: 2, intersection/stop signs: 1.

Five motorists were charged with exceeding the speed limit by 50 km/h. The highest speed recorded was 187 km/h in the posted 110 km/h zone.

On July 3, two motorcyclists were charged with unsafe lane change and speeding at 140 km/h as they wove their way through a congested Highway 2. RCMP had received four separate driving complaints on these two subjects. One of the drivers only had a class 5 license. A third motorcyclist attempted to flee Alberta Sheriffs at a speed in excess of 200 km/h June 30. He drove into a” hornets’ nest” of police officers in Ponoka who were working the Ponoka Stampede. He was charged with dangerous driving under the criminal code.