Dramatic moments on Queen West as pedestrians run from driver of stolen truck that injured police officer and horse
Two people were arrested Friday after the driver of a pickup truck hit cruisers, a horse and struck a Queen West shop
A dramatic and chaotic police arrest scene on busy Queen Street West involving a stolen pickup truck that sent pedestrians running, and injured a police officer and horse, has a local animal rights lawyer questioning the city’s use of mounted units.
A 33-year-old man and 30-year-old woman have been charged in the Friday afternoon incident, Toronto police said in a news release.
Police were alerted at about 3 p.m. on Friday to a stolen truck, in the Queen Street West and Beverley Street area, by their Automatic License Plate Reader system.
A mounted police unit on patrol tried unsuccessfully to stop the driver of the truck before it struck a horse and rammed several officers’ vehicles while trying to escape, police said.
The truck’s driver then mounted the sidewalk, scattering people walking by, and struck the front window of a Little Burgundy shoe shop. One suspect was arrested at the scene and a second person who ran from the truck was arrested a short distance away, police said.
In a startling video obtained by the Star, the pickup truck can be seen colliding with a police vehicle on Queen Street West before the truck reverses and a person jumps out of the front passenger seat. As the truck drives in the opposite direction, police cruisers block it. The truck then turns, jumps the curb onto the sidewalk, and crashes into the storefront — narrowly missing a pedestrian who runs from the oncoming vehicle.
“A dramatic and chaotic police arrest scene on busy Queen Street West involving a stolen pickup truck that sent pedestrians running, and injured a police officer and horse, has a local animal rights lawyer questioning the city’s use of mounted units.”
So what is this lawyer suggesting? That the horses on the mounted unit are being abused, misused, expendable? Earth to lawyer. The members of the mounted unit view their mounts as bona fide police partners, exactly as do police dog handlers. They are effective crime fighting teams. They face danger equally, together. They depend on each other. Both the police service horses and police service dogs are well trained, nurtured and importantly they are genuinely loved by their partners. If anybody doubts the powerful bonds of loyalty and love that form between these officers and their 4 legged partners, doubt no more…..
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