A 51-year-old man is in police custody after threatening to kill police with his dogs near Uptown in Saanich Tuesday afternoon.
The incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. on the Trans-Canada Highway at Carey Road when officers attended a pathway near the Galloping Goose to speak to a man that had been camping in the area for several weeks.
Police said his tent was set up on private property, and that he had a large amount of personal property, and two dogs, one of which had been deemed a dangerous animal by the City of Victoria.
According to Saanich Police, he had become increasingly confrontational with police over the past few weeks about moving his property.
“Officers had engaged him with social services and housing opportunities, however, he refused both and continued to refuse to leave the private property,” said Cst. Markus Anastasiades of the Saanich Police department.
Police said they had warned him several times about moving and it was “explained to him that he would be arrested under the Trespass Act if he did not comply.”
He was issued a warning on Monday, as well as Tuesday morning, to move his encampment that was now obstructing a multi-use path in the area.
When officers spoke with the man today, he threatened to kill police with his dogs before fleeing onto the highway with his dogs. He then continued to threaten to kill police.
The highway was temporarily closed as officers worked to deescalate the situation, however, police said the man quickly deteriorated so a bean-bag shotgun was deployed on the suspect in an effort to apprehend him.
The 51-year-old suspect was eventually arrested and transported back to the Saanich Police department. He suffered minor injuries from the deployment of the bean-bag shotgun.
The dogs were not injured and were seized by the CRD Animal Control Services.
The suspect is facing charges of assault with a weapon, obstructing a peace officer and trespassing and remains in police custody.
Video from TCH near Uptown showing police attempting to secure two dogs (one deemed dangerous) after a suspect threatened to use them to kill Saanich Police officers.
See link below for full story. pic.twitter.com/EFyha8Auwf
— Mike Kelly (@mikevicbuzz) August 30, 2022
