Mounties say a Chilliwack, B.C., man has been charged with three criminal offences after a crash between a tractor and a B.C. Highway Patrol vehicle during a 2023 protest.
Police say the 54-year-old was arrested on Dec. 18 and will appear in Surrey provincial court on Jan. 16, charged with fleeing police, dangerous operation of a vehicle and assaulting a police officer with a weapon.
RCMP said last year that the tractor was one of several vehicles involved in a convoy that began in Chilliwack and was travelling to Vancouver.
The tractor driver sustained serious injuries in the crash that left an officer with minor injuries.
One person has been taken into custody after a tractor crashed into a police car on Saturday afternoon, CBC’s Jon Azpiri reports.
Photos from the collision posted to social media at the time showed a John Deere tractor on its side, flying a black and white flag that read “stop SOGI 123,” an apparent reference to a set of classroom guidelines on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In a statement shortly after the incident, RCMP said members of the Highway Patrol were dealing with a service call at around 12:35 p.m. when they came across a tractor on Highway 1 that was “possibly involved in a protest.”
“They attempted to stop the tractor, which resulted in an initial collision when the tractor struck a police vehicle,” said RCMP Staff Sgt. Duane Honeyman in the statement.
“The incident ended when the tractor rolled over as it tried to take the on-ramp to Highway 1 westbound.”
Several protests erupted in cities across Canada last fall by those opposed to the educational resource intended to create more inclusive classrooms.
The Independent Investigations Office issued a statement in February after concluding its investigation into the Highway 17 crash in Surrey, saying it had cleared police of any wrongdoing.