RCMP Watch

(Winnipeg Free Press)  - A 28-year-old man was hailed as a hero on Monday for rescuing a female RCMP officer whose head was being held under water by an attacker on Peguis First Nation.

Dave Raynor was driving past the scene of an attempted arrest on Saturday afternoon when he noticed the uniformed police officer was in trouble.
“She was making an arrest and all of a sudden, I saw (the two of) them tumbling into the ditch,” Raynor said. “He was pushing her head under the water.”

Raynor slammed on the brakes and jumped out of his car.

The assailant saw Raynor and fled.

“He was running down the highway. You could see the handcuffs on his left hand. It goes to show you she was arresting him.”

Raynor, who is an RCMP auxiliary officer, ran down the attacker.

“I knew I had to detain him. I chased him 80 yards and I tackled him to the ground. He was still resisting arrest,” Raynor said.

Raynor said he held the suspect to the ground even as he flailed and tried to land a punch.

“He turtled right away,” Raynor said, describing how the man rolled up into a ball. “He was still swinging his arms but I’m a bigger guy so he couldn’t get away.”

The female police officer was not injured and the community of nearly 6,000, located 170 kilometres north of Winnipeg, is praising Raynor’s heroic intervention.

“My hat’s off to Dave. He’s young and strong,” said Shop Easy diner worker Anna Marie Prince. “He’s a defender of the cause. What a relief nothing further happened to her.”

Dozens of people saw Raynor pull over and leap to the officer’s rescue.

The female officer is a constable with the Fisher Branch detachment with three years of service on the force.
At Winnipeg RCMP headquarters, Sgt. Line Karpish said the Fisher Branch detachment plans to present the auxiliary officer with a formal certificate of appreciation.

Raynor said his dream is to be a uniformed police officer.

Raynor was born and raised at Peguis, where he still lives. He’s employed as a youth worker with Intertribal Child and Family Services on the reserve, and he puts in all the hours he’s allowed as an auxiliary officer. Raynor has applied to the RCMP and hopes to be accepted as a recruit to the force.

Confrontations are an officer’s worst nightmare, Karpish said, adding the urge to help is purely instinctive.

“I think of my colleagues, the other police, as family. We’re in the same organization that has the purpose to serve and protect,” Karpish said.

Virgil James Thomas, 18, faces nine charges, including aggravated assault, assaulting a police officer and attempting to suffocate.

Ralph Sutherland, who runs a private security guard company at Peguis, said his officers were on shift when they saw the female officer struggling with someone at the roadside.

The security guards raced over to help but Raynor got there first.

“There was a confrontation and Dave was driving by. He saw the officer go down and immediately he ran to her assistance and he helped her arrest the guy,” Sutherland said.
He said everyone is talking about rescue.

“It’s a big thing in our community. People think highly of the RCMP and there’s a lot of talk about Dave,” Sutherland said.