Break-in suspect assaulted officer during arrest, VicPD says

A Victoria police vehicle is seen in this file photo (CTV)

Police in Victoria are recommending charges of assaulting a police officer with a weapon, mischief, possession of stolen property and possession of break-and-enter instruments after officers had an altercation with a man in a parking garage Thursday.

The incident happened shortly after 8 a.m. at a parkade in the 400 block of Belleville Street, according to a news release from the Victoria Police Department.

Officers were called to the area for a report of a man "aggressively yelling at passersby," police said, adding that the man had also been observed breaking into a vehicle.

As police were searching for him, the suspect "stabbed at an officer with a pry bar," striking the officer in the hand, according to VicPD.

"Officers took the suspect to the ground and arrested the man after a brief struggle," police said in the release.

"The officer who was struck by the pry bar suffered a cut to his hand which required medical attention, but he was able to complete his shift."

After the arrest, police said, officers searched the man and located several items that had been stolen during a recent break-in at a coffee shop in the 1800 block of Fairfield Road. He was also in possession of a stolen bicycle, which police said has since been returned to its owner.

The suspect was taken to VicPD cells, where he was held to await a bail hearing, police said, adding that their investigation into the coffee shop break-in is still ongoing.