Police in Vancouver say a 44-year-old Alberta man was arrested Monday following a dangerous, high-speed pursuit through the city’s downtown. Officers initiated the chase after observing a distraught female passenger inside a vehicle in the Downtown Eastside. Police said the passenger appeared “visibly distraught” in the front seat of a parked BMW with Alberta licence plates near East Hastings Street and Dunlevy Avenue shortly after 2:30 p.m. “Concerned for her safety and well-being, officers activated their emergency lights and sirens to conduct a welfare check,” the Vancouver Police Department said in a news release Tuesday. “The vehicle immediately sped away,” the release said. “Due to the perceived threat to the passenger, a police pursuit was authorized.” Several police cruisers pursued the vehicle into downtown Vancouver, where police said the BMW “drove at high speeds, weaved into oncoming traffic and showed a complete disregard for public safety.” Pursuing officers stopped and blocked the BMW near Waterfront Station and conducted a “high-risk takedown” of the suspect. Video and images posted to social media show more than a dozen police vehicles converged on the busy area outside the transit hub. “Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident,” the release said. Authorities said the suspect is facing possible charges of forcible confinement, drug possession and dangerous driving. The female passenger is reportedly co-operating with police and the investigation is ongoing.
