Calgary man charged with assaulting Alberta RCMP officer

RCMP have arrested and charged a motorist accused of attacking a police officer during a traffic stop in southwestern Alberta.

Mounties based in the Crowsnest Pass were called to Highway 22 south of Highway 520 around 4:20 p.m. on Thursday for reports of someone driving erratically.

“Initial reports suggested that the driver may have been impaired,” RCMP said in a statement released on Friday.

Officers eventually found the vehicle and as an RCMP member approached, one person was seen walking by the trunk while another was in the passenger seat.

The person outside smelled of alcohol and was placed under arrest, police said, but the suspect resisted and attacked the officer before fleeing the scene on foot.

The man was later found and subdued with the help of a police dog, according to RCMP. The suspect was then taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Robert Val-Lane Edwards of Calgary, 58, faces charges of assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest, obstruction, driving a motor vehicle while prohibited, dangerous driving, and refusal of impairment screening.

Edwards was remanded into custody and is to appear in court in Lethbridge on Monday.

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