Four individuals have been charged following an incident that allegedly saw a police officer dragged by a moving vehicle.
On July 29 at 12:30 a.m., an officer with the Morinville RCMP conducted a traffic stop on a reportedly stolen vehicle at a gas station in Gibbons. RCMP say as the officer went to arrest the occupants, the driver started the vehicle and put it in reverse, striking the officer.
Following this, the officer reported jumping into the moving vehicle to avoid injury, where they were able to take the vehicle out of gear and remove the keys from the ignition, just as it struck a tree.
The officer again tried to arrest the occupants, when the driver allegedly pulled a shotgun from between the seats, exited the vehicle, and threw it in the bed of the truck.
The Morinville officer suffered minor injuries from the incident.
“Every day, there are on average 2.2 acts of violence towards Alberta RCMP officers in the province,” says Darcy McGunigal, Detachment Commander, Morinville RCMP. “Since 2023, instances of assault on police with a weapon or causing bodily harm has increased 23 per cent. While we highlight dropping CSI crime rates and the most recent 18 per cent drop in stolen vehicles compared to last year, don’t forget that with each of these arrests there are men and women on the front lines putting their safety at risk combating these prolific offenders.”
Following a search of the occupants and the vehicle itself, police say they found:
- Small amounts of methamphetamine
- Small amounts of fentanyl
- A false bill of sale
- A sawed off shot gun and ammunition
As a result, a 42-year-old Onoway resident, Ryan Calvin Grant, was charged with:
- Possession of stolen property over $5,000
- Possession of stolen property under $5,000
- Weapons offences (x4)
- Drive a motor vehicle while prohibited(x2)
- Assault a police officer with a weapon
- Fail to comply with a condition of an undertaking (x4)
- Possession of a controlled substance
Cassandra Joy Bruno, 34, residing at Alexander First Nation, was charged with:
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
- Possession of stolen property under $5,000
- Weapon offences (x4)
- Possession of a controlled substance
- Possession of a forged document
A 38-year-old with no fixed address, Michael James Racicot, faces the following charges:
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
- Weapon offences (x4)
- Fail to comply with release order (x3)
From Minburn, 42-year-old Elaine Nussey was charged with:
- Possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000
- Weapons offences (x4)
- Fail to comply with probation order (x2)
- Fail to comply with condition of undertaking
- Breach of peace bond
All four individuals were taken before a justice of the peace and remanded into custody. They were scheduled to next appear in court on July 31 at the Alberta Court of Justice in Morinville.
A link to footage from the officer’s body worn camera is available here.
