A police horse and an officer are both being treated after being struck in a dramatic arrest relating to a stolen vehicle located in the heart of downtown Toronto on Friday afternoon.
Toronto police said a stolen Dodge Ram truck was spotted around 3:15 p.m. on Queen Street West near Beverley Street by community officers and mounted police.
When officers tried to stop the vehicle and speak to the driver, he tried to flee the scene by allegedly driving at officers and horses and backing onto the sidewalk. He was eventually arrested after a brief chase on foot.
“As mounted officers approached the vehicle, the suspect drove towards the mounted officers, striking one of the horses and continuing forward, striking head-on with a scout car,” Duty Inspector Scott Shutt said at the scene on Nov. 1.
“The stolen vehicle then reversed up onto the curb and fled westbound, where it collided with a second scout car and a third scout car then struck the vehicle, causing it to go up onto the curb.”
The driver and a passenger in the vehicle were arrested, according to police. The driver was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, along with an officer in one of the cars. The police horse was taken to a vet to be assessed.
The dramatic scenes played out in the heart of Toronto on a busy Friday afternoon but no passersby were injured.
“It is a dangerous situation,” Shutt said. “There was no pursuit, the vehicle was stopped, officers approached it and it then drove towards officers and it was stopped basically in the same area.”
Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw described the arrest as “dynamic” in a social media post and said the horse that was struck was named York.
“Our officers do incredible but often dangerous work keeping our city safe. Thank you to all of our members for what you do every day,” the chief wrote.
Police did not announce whether charges have been laid.