On December 24, 2024, at approximately 2:15 PM, an officer from the Portage la Prairie Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a vehicle at the intersection of 8th Street NW and 6th Avenue NW. The officer activated emergency lights, but the vehicle failed to stop. Due to concerns for public safety, a pursuit was not initiated.
Later, officers tracked the vehicle on Road 70 North, heading towards Provincial Road 240. Officers positioned a police vehicle to deploy a spike belt while another police vehicle followed the suspect vehicle. The suspect vehicle came to a halt before hitting the spike belt, then reversed into the pursuing police vehicle. Subsequently, the suspect vehicle drove over the spike belt and turned south onto Provincial Road 240, where it collided head-on with another arriving police vehicle.
The collision resulted in both vehicles catching fire. Officers promptly exited their vehicles and safely removed the two female occupants from the suspect vehicle, placing them under arrest.
All three individuals involved—the two suspects and one officer—were transported to a local hospital for treatment and later released back to police custody.
A 30-year-old female from Portage la Prairie faces charges of Flight from Police and Resist/Obstruct a Police Officer and has been released on an Undertaking to appear in court at a later date. Michelle Whitford, 32, also from Portage la Prairie, has been remanded into custody on charges including Assault Police Officer with a Weapon, Dangerous Operation of a Conveyance, Theft of a Motor Vehicle, Flight from Police, and Resist Arrest.
The Portage la Prairie RCMP continues to investigate the incident.
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