Prince Rupert ERT unit resolves Morricetown incident

The Prince Rupert RCMP Emergency Response Team was sent to Moricetown early this morning, in order to make an arrest of a suspect in an incident that goes back almost two weeks.
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At the time, Highway 16 was closed near Moricetown after an alleged incident between an RCMP officer and local resident, at the time the resident had disappeared onto his property and the situation went unresolved until this morning. In the early hours of today, the ERT unit executed a warrant and provided for the arrest of the 65 year old Moricetown man, who is now in custody and facing a number of charges including: Possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace, Obstruction of Justice, Assault of a Police Officer and Uttering Threats.

The Opinion 250 website has a few details on the unusual situation and the participation of the Rupert RCMP's unit in its resolution.

Highway Closing Details Now Public
By 250 News
Monday, July 09, 2007 03:56 PM

The RCMP are just now releasing details on the incident nearly two weeks ago, which resulted in Highway 16 near Moricetown being shut down for a few hours.

In a release from "E" Division Headquarters, Sergeant Pierre Lemaitre says a 65 year old Moricetown man is in custody following the execution of a warrant near Moricetown early this morning.

Members of the Prince Rupert Emergency Response Team attended the property of 65 year old Norman RENAUD at approximately 7:30 this morning with an arrest warrant for Mr. Renaud issued after the alleged assault of an RCMP member on June 26, 2007.

It is alleged that following a routine traffic check, there was an altercation between a uniformed police officer and the accused punched the officer in the head.

"The accused then threatened to kill the officer and walked back into his wooded property. He returned a short time later to the location of the assault armed with a firearm and upon being observed by responding members again walked back into the woods on his property."

The release continues ...

"Given the nature of the assault and possibility of the discharge of firearms, police set up a response team to assess the risk factors. Until a safety assessment could be done, Highway 16 was temporarily closed while the investigation continued. After some time, and some information gathering, RCMP officers strategically took extraprecautions to avoid injury or death to all parties. The parties being the suspect, the public, and the police officers themselves.
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"While Opinion250 was among the members of the media calling police for details of the incident, Lemaitre says the information was not released "due to safety concerns we could not discuss the nature of the investigation."

Renaud was taken into custody without incident outside his residence by the members of the Prince Rupert Emergency Response Team and is now facing 4 counts including: Possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace, Obstruction of Justice, Assault of a Police Officer and Uttering Threats.

The investigation is continuing and police are in the process of executing a search warrant on Mr. Renaud’s property.

Additional charges are possible.