A woman is facing multiple charges after police deployed a spike belt during a pursuit.
Grenville County OPP responded to a traffic complaint on Saturday, around 5:50am, after a driver was headed southbound on Highway 416, from Ottawa.
Police say the driver was crossing lanes repeatedly, and damage was also seen on the front of the vehicle.
Constable Dave Holmes says after entering the North Grenville area, an officer attempted a traffic stop but the driver continued down the road at varying speed into Edwardsburgh-Cardinal, often greatly exceeding the speed limit.
“Further down the road, another officer was able to successfully deploy a tire-deflation device or spike belt,” Holmes said. “The vehicle continued down the highway after the deployment and eventually more officers responded and successfully stopped the vehicle using what we call a ‘rolling block’ technique.”
Holmes says officers had to force the vehicle open after the driver refused to cooperate, and she was placed into custody.
He explains that the spike belt was deployed as a safety tactic for other drivers.
“Just given that pursuits can put the public in unnecessary danger,” Holmes said. “It’s a safe way of reducing the chance of a pursuit or any other aggressive dangerous driving behaviour, as it will slowly deflate the tires if it’s deployed successfully, which in this case – it was.”
The driver, a 34-year-old woman from Elizabethtown-Kitley is being charged with multiple offenses, including driving while impaired, possession of opioids, and failure to comply.
She’s since been released and will be before a judge in Brockville on June 4.