REGINA – The RPS “eye in the sky” has been earning it’s keep - especially over this past weekend.
The Aerial Support Unit has become an invaluable resource for city police, greatly assisting with investigations and apprehending criminals.
“Within a two-hour period overnight Aug. 19, ASU assisted in apprehending five suspects responsible for the break-ins and a stolen vehicle,” said RPS in a media release.
The first call for service came to police around 11:30 p.m. for a stolen SUV from the 1400 block of Rae Street,.
“ASU helped patrol officers on the ground locate the vehicle driving nearby and were able to follow it east of the city where it came to a stop,” RPS said. Three people got out of the vehicle and hid in a bush, but the ASU officers were able to direct police on the ground to the location of the suspects. All three suspects were arrested and currently before the court.
The second incident began at 12:10 a.m. on Aug. 20 when police received a report of a break-in currently in progress on the 1200 block of McTavish Street.
“Suspects were spotted holding crowbars as they fled the scene on bikes,” said RPS.
Within 30 minutes, ASU were able to track one of the suspects, with patrol officers arresting that person in the area of Seventh Avenue and Mcintosh Street.
“The suspect was also wanted in relation to a break and enter and theft from earlier in August,” RPS said.
Finally, just before 1 a.m., ASU assisted in another break and enter call. A suspect was observed inside a shipping container owned by a construction company working on the 1900 block of Retallack Street.
“ASU was able to track the suspect, alerting patrol officers on the ground that he was hiding in behind the shipping container before running east-bound away from the site,” RPS said.
After a chase on foot, police were able to arrest the suspect.
“As a result of these investigations, five adult males are facing charges ranging from break and enter to theft under $5,000 and various breaches,” RPS said. “If you would like to see what it is like on a nightshift with the Aerial Support Unit, this short video outlines a two-hour span up in the air last week.”
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