WEYBURN - The Weyburn Police Service experienced a busy week responding to over 100 calls for service during the period of June 3 through June 9, resulting in a total of 29 charges. Of the charges, 15 were laid under the Criminal Code of Canada, nine under the Traffic Safety Act (TSA), and five under other provincial Acts or Regulations.
At approximately 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning, an officer on patrol conducted a traffic stop which resulted in an adult male being charged with impaired driving as well as unlawfully having alcohol in a vehicle. The male was dealt with accordingly and released with an upcoming court date. The driver’s vehicle was impounded for a period of 60 days due to an alcohol concentration of more than twice the legal limit.
An adult male faces several serious charges after an incident late Friday night. An officer responded to a reported intoxicated male who damaged a VLT machine and failed to pay his tab at a local licensed establishment. Upon arrival, the officer located the intoxicated male in the driver’s seat of his vehicle. The male became very angry when speaking to the officer and exited his vehicle to confront the officer. The male, who was very large and intimidating, put his fists up and threatened the officer as he moved toward the officer.
The officer, who had immediately called for back-up when the male became angry, attempted to diffuse the situation but was not successful and ultimately the male was “pepper-sprayed”. The pepper-spray had little effect on the male who continued to threaten the officer and violently smashed both the rear window and the side window of the police vehicle. A further use of force option was deployed and the male was taken into custody.
Charges include three counts of mischief to property, fraudulently obtaining food or lodging, resisting arrest, assaulting a person assisting a police officer, two counts of assaulting a police officer, uttering threats, and failing to comply with a breath demand. The male was held in custody and is to appear in court on June 11.
Sometime Friday night or early Saturday morning, a business located on south hill was broken into and cash and other valuable items were stolen. Also during the week, there have been multiple reports of “car-diggings” and residents are reminded to remove their valuables and lock their vehicles. These matters are currently under investigation and anyone that may have seen or heard anything that may be related to these incidents are encouraged to contact the Weyburn Police Service.
The Weyburn Police Service conducted two High Visibility Enforcement (HVE) projects during the past week resulting in a few traffic-related tickets being laid as well as two drivers receiving a three-day driver’s license suspension. The WPS will be co-hosting another major traffic safety initiative on June 26-27. The two-day Selective Traffic Enforcement Project (STEP) involves officers from other policing agencies within Saskatchewan and will include one day in the Estevan and surrounding area followed by one day in the Weyburn and surrounding area. Traffic safety remains a high priority and residents are reminded that several road construction projects are in full swing within the city and obeying the signs and driving slow through the worksites is very important to the workers safety.
The Weyburn Police also responded to a variety of other calls including alarms, domestic disturbances, suspicious persons or vehicles, mental health concerns, requests to check on an individual’s well-being, harassing communications, and calls relating to animals, parking, or other bylaw concerns.
