Two people are facing charges after a pair of police officers were pepper sprayed while attempting to make an arrest in a stolen vehicle case.

Police tried to stop a vehicle on Penbrook Drive S.E. at about 2:00 a.m. on Wednesday but the offenders were able to evade the officers.

The vehicle was found abandoned a short time later along Fonda Court S.E. and police confirmed it was stolen.

The officers tracked the offenders’ footsteps in the snow and arrested a woman.

A man fled on foot and was confronted by the officers near 36 Street and Memorial Drive.

He pulled something out of his pocket and one of the officers deployed a CEW (Conducted Energy Weapon) but it did not disable the offender who then pepper sprayed both officers in the face.

Police used the CEW a second time with the same result and were sprayed with pepper spray for a second time by the suspect.

The man ran from officers and then pulled out a 12 inch knife and confronted the officers telling them to shoot him.

Police used the CEW for a third time and temporarily disabled the man who was eventually taken into custody.

“I think in general, we are seeing crimes being committed with offenders having pepper spray, bear spray. They are using this as part of their weapon on choice in addition to whatever else they might have so it is common to see pepper spray or bear spray,’ said District 4 Inspector Kelly Campbell. “These situations are very dynamic. These officers fought through getting pepper sprayed. This is a feat in itself,” said Campbell. “It is debilitating and I commend these officers for their tenacity and fight to keep going and fight through this and deploy their CEW.”

The two officers were later treated by EMS at the scene.

Investigators say the woman was carrying a baton and backpack filled with mail from 50 different people and some marijuana.

Brittany Anne Manning, 18, is charged with one count of possession of marijuana.

Erik Richard Couronne, 22, was arrested on 36 outstanding warrants and is charged with the following in connection to this incident:

  • Two counts of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon
  • One count of possession of stolen property over $5,000
  • Three counts of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
  • Two counts of resisting arrest
  • One count of failure to comply with a condition of a recognizance
  • One count of operating a motor vehicle without licence in possession
  • One count of driving an uninsured motor vehicle
  • One count of careless driving

Police say the vehicle was stolen on March 3 from the Mayland Heights area after the keys were left inside the vehicle overnight.

“We’re faced with these challenges, with offenders that are becoming more and more violent and they don’t want to be arrested and these challenges happen on a daily basis that our officers are facing and we rely heavily on our training, we have excellent training, and these officers go out nightly and face these kinds of incidents,” said Campbell. “He did not want to be arrested and he was asking for our members to shoot him and I think that in itself shows that our officers have to make these decision in split seconds.”

Couronne will appear on the charges on Thursday and police say the investigation into the stolen mail continues.