A Comox Valley RCMP member was injured after being hit with a piece of wood while taking a suspect into custody on July 1.
The front-line member was assaulted after attending a local business on an unrelated matter when an employee identified someone who allegedly just shoplifted.
The member went outside to take the shoplifter into custody and, without warning, was punched and hit in the head with a piece of wood. The member suffered cuts, bruises and a possible concussion.
The incident was part of a busy Canada Day for Comox Valley RCMP, even with no community-wide celebrations this year due to pandemic restrictions.
“This was one of the busiest days in recent memory,” said Const. Monika Terragni, Comox Valley RCMP media relations officer. “A day like this has all of our frontline members going from call to call, often without breaks or much of any down time.”
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Comox Valley RCMP reported they received more than 75 calls for service on July 1 based on a number of different complaints:
Abandoned vehicle (1); alarms, one hold up alarm (2); annoying circumstance (1); assaults (3); assist the general public (6); assist other agency (5); break and enter (1); bylaw complaints (6); check well-being (5); disturbance (5); drug activity (2); harassment (3); traffic complaints (11); mischief (4); missing person (1); vehicle collisions (1); lost/found property (3); shots fired (2); suspicious person/vehicle /occurrence (7); theft (6); weapon possession (2); and fraud (1)