SUNDRE – A report of a person being bear sprayed at a local business’s parking lot was among the files recently logged by the Sundre RCMP detachment.
In what the department’s commander called an otherwise fairly quiet week, the incident that reportedly unfolded on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at the parking lot in front of Pharmasave along the Highway 27-Main Avenue corridor, was among 27 total calls received by local police from Feb. 19-26.
Sgt. Trent Sperlie said that after the reported bear spraying, the victim was brought by bystanders into a local business to wash out his eyes, after which the victim left on foot.
“EMS attended along with RCMP but neither the victim nor the suspect could be located,” reads part of an email statement the sergeant sent the Albertan, adding that video surveillance had been obtained and that the incident was further being investigated.
When speaking with the Albertan on Feb. 27, the sergeant said there was not yet any updates on the file or identifying a suspect.
“There is a still image and we’re just looking internally right now because the image is of who we think is the victim, and we don’t want to disclose victim information openly like that right now,” said Sperlie.
Asked how police were able to confirm whether the suspect used bear spray as opposed to pepper spray, he said “it could be either one” but added bear spray is far more readily available and for that reason tends to be used more in these kinds of incidents.
“Pepper spray is not as easily available as bear spray, so we just make the presumption that in these cases it’s bear spray,” he said.
“Pepper spray itself is designed to be used on people and it can’t be sold to the public, it’s only for law enforcement use.”
On Friday, Feb. 23, police received at about 8:30 a.m. a report of a shoplifting incident at Freson Bros. in what also remains under further investigation, reads part of his statement.
“We don’t have a still image as of yet, but I know that’s part of what they’re looking into,” he said in response to follow-up questions.
Later that same day at about 2 p.m., members of the Sundre RCMP also responded to a report of an erratic driver on Highway 22 south. The suspect vehicle was located and the motorist subsequently cited with two traffic violations for careless driving as well as improperly crossing double solid lines, said the sergeant.
Sperlie’s report recapping police activities over the week-long period also highlighted an instance of fraud that left a victim $50 out of pocket.
“The fraudster posed as someone who could provide a vehicle history report for the victim,” he wrote. “The victim paid the money at which point the fraudster stopped all communication with them and did not provide the report.”
Asked how the victim paid the fraudster, Sperlie said, “I believe it was an e-transfer; it was an electronic money transfer of some sort.”
The incident reinforces the ongoing importance of raising awareness about fraud and of being sure to get the full name and contact information of a person claiming to represent a company or organization, and to then follow up separately with appropriate channels to confirm who they claim to be before finalizing any financial transactions.
“Make sure that you’re dealing with the actual entity that you think you’re dealing with,” he said. “In this particular case, it appears that the fraudster pretended to be part of a legit company out there, and wasn’t.”
Additionally, two separate and unrelated cases of mischief led to charges in one incident while the complainant in the other opted against pressing charges.
In one case that involved mischief to a TV and theft of money, a suspect was charged for mischief under $5,000 as well as theft under $5,000 and disobeying a court order.
In the other situation involving mischief in which someone threw vodka cans over a fence and into an industrial yard along the Bergen Road, the sergeant said a suspect was subsequently identified but added the complainant decided not to pursue the matter any further.
Responding to follow-up questions, the sergeant said the suspect in this case was warned.
Among the other calls Sundre RCMP responded to was a suspicious vehicle in Sundre that led Mounties to locate a driver who reportedly provided a breath sample that failed, he wrote, adding a call also came in identifying the truck that the suspect was in as having been involved in a collision with two parked vehicles. An immediate roadside sanctions was given along with tickets for failing to produce insurance, drivers license, and registration as well as for failing to remain at the scene of accident, he said.
Residents with any information about these or other incidents are encouraged to contact the Sundre RCMP’s complaint line at 403-638-3655. Alternatively, information may also be provided anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the P3 Tips app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.
