A shirtless man clung to the roof of a moving RCMP vehicle during a wild incident that played out at a busy transit hub in North Vancouver, B.C., Monday evening. Part of the encounter was also captured on video, which shows the man yanking on the vehicle’s emergency lights before he’s eventually tossed onto the sidewalk as the officer behind the wheel circles a roundabout at Lonsdale Quay. Witness Henrik de Villiers was waiting to pick up his daughter from the SeaBus terminal when he watched the incident unfold. He told CTV News he first spotted a couple ambulances, then saw a half-naked man start “chasing one of the paramedics.” “He runs into one of the ambulances, then this guy tried to open up the second ambulance but it was locked, fortunately,” de Villiers said. The paramedics called for help, and a lone constable arrived shortly after. “He started going crazy, punching her windows,” de Villiers said of the suspect. “She was smart, she didn’t get out of the vehicle because it would escalate.” Videos show the front windshield of the officer’s vehicle smashed by the time the suspect is thrown onto the concrete. Additional RCMP officers arrived shortly after and helped take the man into custody, de Villiers said. In a statement, North Vancouver RCMP said the incident began as a medical call at Lonsdale Quay, and that officers were called to help with an “aggressive patient.” After his arrest, the man was hospitalized for injuries he sustained while damaging the glass, authorities said. The officer was also taken to hospital as a precaution after being “exposed to debris from the shattered windshield.” “This was a dynamic and frightening situation for many bystanders who witnessed the incident in a very populated area,” said Cpl. Mansoor Sahak, in the statement. “We are extremely grateful that no one was seriously injured as a result of this incident.” The suspect, who is known to police, is facing multiple charges in relation to the incident, the RCMP said. Authorities asked anyone who witnessed the incident to contact the North Vancouver detachment at 604-985-1311.
