Winnipeg woman charged after police vehicle rammed in traffic stop

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A 25-year-old woman is facing a number of charges following a dangerous chase Saturday evening in Winnipeg’s River Heights and Charleswood neighbourhoods.

Around 8 p.m., police said they received calls about a passenger vehicle driving erratically in the city’s West End.

An hour later, police began following the 2019 Honda Civic after officers said it was “being driven dangerously, placing other motorists and the general public at risk” in River Heights.

The driver continued driving erratically to evade police, they said.

When officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop at Laxdal Road and Ridgewood Avenue, they said the driver accelerated and rammed a police vehicle before speeding away. Air1 members kept their eyes on the car as it drove into the Charleswood area, guiding responding officers.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Claude Chancy told CTV News the police vehicle was only damaged on one side near its front end and was still operational. No officers were injured.

Around 9:15 p.m., the suspect’s car jumped a median concrete curb near Roblin Boulevard and Greenbrier Avenue. The incident caused significant damage and rendered the vehicle inoperable.

Neither the driver nor the two passengers sustained any injuries.

The 25-year-old woman has been charged with two counts of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, dangerous operation of a conveyance, flight while pursued by a peace officer, driving while impaired, and failure or refusal to comply with demand.

She was released Sunday morning by way of an appearance notice.