4 Ontario cops injured, 4 cruisers rammed as officers try to stop stolen vehicles

SOUTHWOLD, Ont. — Ontario Provincial Police say a 26-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy are facing a total of 54 charges arising from an incident that sent four officers to hospital and left four cruisers wrecked.

They say officers spotted a stolen pickup truck driving erratically on Friday evening, but were unable to stop it before it left Highway 401 in the Shedden area in southwestern Ontario.

It’s alleged the occupants broke into a home in Shedden, where they abandoned the first truck and stole another pickup.

OPP say that truck collided with two police vehicles northeast of Shedden and two additional police vehicles a few kilometres later, injuring four officers, who were taken to hospital for treatment.

Investigators allege that after the second collision the pair abandoned the second pickup, flagged a passing car, and assaulted the driver and passenger in an unsuccessful attempt to steal their vehicle.

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They say after the occupants of the car drove away unharmed, the suspects hid in a ditch, where they were apprehended by police about an hour after the incident began.

“Four officers in the police vehicles suffered non-life threatening injuries as a result of the collisions,” OPP said in a release. “They were transported to hospital, and have been subsequently discharged.”

Two long guns were recovered in the first stolen pickup truck, police said.

Gary Green of Haldimand County, Ont., faces a total of 40 charges, including six counts of assault with a weapon, three of assault causing bodily harm, assault with intent to resist arrest, and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana.

A boy from Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation, Ont., faces 14 charges that include assault with a weapon, robbery with intent, theft of a motor vehicle, and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana.

OPP say the accused are being held in custody, and are scheduled to appear in court in St. Thomas, Ont.

The Canadian Press