BONNYVILLE - S/Sgt. Sarah Parke gave a statement on May 5, identifying 62-year-old Bonnyville resident David Merko as the suspect who stole a trackhoe and used it to destroy five unoccupied RCMP vehicles at the detachment, and dump boulders in front of the prisoner bay door on May 3.
Merko has been charged with 13 criminal code offences, including dangerous driving, six counts of mischief over $5,000, breaking and entering, theft over $5,000, possession of stolen property over $5,000, two counts of obstructing and resisting arrest, and uttering threats.
“The last charge of uttering threats stems from an April 17 incident, in which David Merko called the dispatch centre in Saskatchewan and uttered threats to kill RCMP officers.”
The RCMP allege Merko had stolen the trackhoe from a local business, moments prior to the attack, and crashed it through a fence.
“On his way to the detachment the suspect picked up several boulders and took them with him to the detachment. Upon his arrival, he dropped them in front of our prisoner bay door, in an apparent attempt to hinder our officer's ability to respond to calls,” said Parke, during a press conference Monday.
Merko fled on foot and the Bonnyville RCMP was assisted by numerous resources including the Real Time Operations Centre, St. Paul police dog services with their police dog PDS Chase, Cold lake RPAS (drone support), Eastern Alberta District General Investigations Section and Crime Reduction Unit, and the Elk Point RCMP detachment.
“The Real Time Operation Centre is based out of K Division headquarters and is comprised of RCMP members who oversee and quarterback high risk incidents such as this while they are unfolding. Their involvement in these types of incidents are not only increasing our chances of catching a fleeing subject, but they also increase officer safety safety while we're doing that. So, they truly are an invaluable resource to the RCMP.”
Police dog PDS Chase located the suspect hiding in a tree line just northwest of the detachment. According to the police statement, Merko resisted arrest and fought with officers and was bitten by PDS Chase. Once in custody, Merko was treated at the Bonnyville hospital for minor injuries and released.
“After a judicial interim release hearing, David Merko was remanded into custody and will appear here in the Bonnyville court for Tuesday, May 6,” said Parke.
“Alberta RCMP officers from neighbouring detachments did not hesitate to assist us, ensuring the suspect was quickly taken into custody, as well as ensuring there was no interruption in the overall police service in Bonnyville, that the community members have come to expect and deserve,” said Parke.
When asked if the incident will result in an increase in security measures, Parke explained that the Bonnyville RCMP will be conducting a review of the incident, and the RCMP is continuously increasing and implementing new protective measures, policies, and procedures.
“Incidents like this can be frightening for communities, but in this instance, we believe there was no threat to the public as the Bonnyville RCMP was clearly the intended target of this attack,” said Parke.
Parke also commented on the negative attention the incident has received on social media.
“Unfortunately, a lot of comments have been negative, even threatening towards RCMP to the point of expressing disappointment that no RCMP officers were injured or killed during the incident. All RCMP officers, including the ones here in Bonnyville, go to work day in and day out to provide a service to protect and serve the communities that they live in. So, it’s extremely disheartening to see these types of comments,” said Parke.
Parke said the Alberta RCMP are seeing an increase in violence, with the most recent statistic indicating that 2.3 incidents of violence occur daily towards Alberta RCMP officers.
No RCMP officers were injured during the incident. Parke said there is around $450,000 worth of damage to RCMP vehicles.
Parke explained that no drugs or alcohol were involved in the incident.
