Here are some of the crime stories from around Metro Vancouver and B.C. on Monday, Dec. 23, 2024
A 54-year-old Chilliwack man has been charged after colliding a tractor with B.C. RCMP vehicles during a protest in Surrey a year ago.
The tractor was leading a slow-moving westbound convoy on the Trans-Canada Highway near 176th Street on Nov. 25, 2023, when the collision occurred. The convoy was protesting sexual orientation and gender identity programs, or SOGI, being taught in B.C. public schools.
The driver was seriously injured when the tractor flipped onto its side, while one officer received minor injuries in the collision.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C., which looks into police interactions resulting in serious injury or death, cleared the officers for their part in the crash.
On Dec. 9, Malkiat Singh (Bill) Shoker was charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, flight while being pursued by police and assaulting an officer with a weapon.
Shoker was arrested on Dec. 18 and is due back in provincial court in Surrey on Jan. 16.
Police recover stolen search and rescue equipment
Mounties in Squamish say they have recovered B.C. Parks and search and rescue equipment that was stolen this fall.
Police received a report on Oct. 18 that a B.C. Parks storage unit had been broken into overnight and “large items” were stolen.
On Nov. 21, police received a report of a theft from a vehicle in Whistler, with the value of stolen items in both incidents totalling more than $20,000.
About a week later, officers attending an unrelated call saw some of the stolen gear in the Squamish Valley area.
The Sea to Sky RCMP said in a news release Monday that a search was conducted on Nov. 29 and police recovered some of the stolen search-and-rescue gear and other valuables.
Officers are reminding the public to contact police immediately after a theft.
With files from The Canadian Press