File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

ARREST MADE

Kamloops man charged after allegedly starting fire, scrapping with off-duty police officer

Aug 17, 2021 | 4:04 PM

KAMLOOPS — Kamloops RCMP say a suspect has been charged after an off-duty officer came upon a grass fire along Columbia Street last Thursday (Aug. 12).

Police say around 9:00 p.m on August 12, officers responded to the area of Columbia Street and 1st Avenue, where a man was allegedly fighting with an off-duty officer.

Prior to the altercation, the off-duty officer had stopped for a vehicle with its hazard lights on and saw a grass fire burning nearby. The driver of the vehicle was pouring bottled water on the flames and pointed toward a person walking down the road, who was believed to have set the fire.

The officer then contacted the local RCMP detachment and followed the suspect. He identified himself as a police officer, and told the man he was under arrest. The suspect allegedly tried to flee and resisted arrest, however backup arrived and the man was taken to cells.

“Thanks to the quick actions of the public the fire was extinguished before it could spread and grow into something much more substantial than what was described as a campfire in size,” Cst. Crystal Evelyn states in a release, “And thanks to the off-duty police officer, a suspect was promptly arrested and remains in custody for the time being.”

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One day prior on August 11, two other grass fires had been set along Columbia Street and Columbia Street West and extinguished by Kamloops Fire Rescue. However Kamloops RCMP say the incidents on August 11 and August 12 are not related. (See previous: https://cfjctoday.com/2021/08/12/suspect-identified-in-pair-of-columbia-street-grass-fires-kamloops-rcmp-seeking-dash-cam-footage/ )

According to the release, 32-year-old Wyatt Alcide Proulx of Kamloops was ‘charged with Mischief and Obstruct a Police Officer’. Proulx was remanded in custody with his next court appearance scheduled for today (Aug. 17).

Anybody who witnessed this incident, or has information related to it is asked to contact Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000 and reference file number 2021-28020.