A B.C. man says he’ll defend himself on multiple charges after his arrest at a Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»park for allegedly stealing a police vehicle and driving erratically near a playground.
In a video shared with Glacier Media, a Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Police Department (VPD) cruiser can be seen driving in circles nearby a busy playground on Sunday, Oct. 6, around 11 a.m.
Dustin Walter Tallio appeared before Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Provincial Court Judge Donna Senniw Oct. 7. He slumped to the floor in the prisoners’ dock at first but Senniw told him to stand up.
Tallio is charged with theft of a motor vehicle, dangerous driving causing bodily harm, failing to stop causing bodily harm and flight from police.
“It’s an extraordinary set of facts, stealing a police vehicle and hitting a pedestrian,” Crown prosecutor Catherine Bright told Senniw.
Bright said the charges are serious and that Crown would be seeking Tallio’s detention. A bail hearing could happen as soon as Oct. 8. Bail proceedings are covered by a publication ban.
The slightly built man, clad in sweatpants and a T-shirt depicting a skull, told the court he wanted to defend himself. Senniw, Bright and duty counsel lawyer John Turner all cautioned Tallio against such a course of action.
“I have tried to explain the folly of that,” Turner said.
Senniw told Tallio he needs to have a strong plan in place for a bail hearing.
“I can do that myself,” he replied.
The Crown was arranging to have paper disclosure made available to Tallio before he returns to court on Oct. 8.
What happened?
Robert Farr was walking his dog around Templeton Park when he spotted the driver in the police vehicle driving at an excessive speed nearby.
"I saw a VPD SUV speeding through a block over,” he said. "It ramped over speed bumps and jumped a curb into the new running track and field by the kids' playground.”
Sgt. Steve Addison said before the incident officers were flagged down near East Hastings and Semolina Drive for a woman in distress at 10:45 a.m.
As police officers stepped out of the vehicle to assist the woman, the suspect got into the driver’s seat. The man stole the police vehicle and drove it toward a group of families at Templeton Park.
“It is hard to overstate how dangerous this behaviour was,” Addison said.
Police say the suspect drove up on the grass field, near where young families were gathering at a playground and where kids were playing soccer.
In the video, a child can be heard yelling "go away" as police arrive on the scene.
“[It was] quite scary. Parents and kids [were] scrambling for cover,” Farr said.
Caregivers in the area gathered all the children quickly and were helped by staff at the nearby community centre.
Police officers were on scene three minutes after the car was stolen.
A K9 officer with the VPD can be seen driving to the park and intervening in the stolen vehicle. The police dog and officer arrested the man while other police officers arrived.
Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»police say the 41-year-old suspect is a prolific offender with more than 50 criminal convictions.
Addison said one person was injured during the incident and was nearly struck head-on by the vehicle. He suffered minor injuries and went to the hospital.
The suspect was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Turner told the judge that Tallio had been bitten by a dog.
“This reckless and criminal behaviour could have killed or seriously injured innocent people. We are grateful to the VPD officers and the police service dog that responded immediately to stop this imminent public safety threat,” Addison said.
