A collision involving an RCMP vehicle in early September raised concerns from city councillors at Monday's municipal services committee meeting at City Hall.
The incident happened Sept. 4, when a northbound RCMP vehicle struck a westbound vehicle on 100th Street and 15th Avenue.
The police vehicle was racing to respond to a call from a business about an intoxicated individual with a knife. The police vehicle had its lights flashing and all its emergency equipment on at the time. The crash resulted in four individuals being sent to hospital.
Concerns were raised by mayor Ian Hamilton about the incident. He asked Staff Sgt. Phil Wilson if the crash had prompted a review of the manner in which the RCMP respond to calls.
Wilson said the matter was "still under investigation." He said the Traffic Safety Act allows police vehicles to run red lights in certain situations.
He said the RCMP direction to its officers has always been "if you're going to go through red lights you've got to do it in a safe manner" and said there would be no change in policy beyond reminding officers to do just that. Wilson also said individual members face the consequences of their actions.
A further concern expressed by Hamilton was the speeds used by patrol cars in this and other situations. He expressed concern about children or elderly people who might be crossing the street.
Councillor Trent Houk ex recounted a situation the night before the collision, where he saw a number of police cars racing down the street to respond to an incident at speeds that "scared me," he said.
"The speeds which they were traveling really freaked me out," said Houk, who said he was glad it was happening at 11:30 p.m. and "not 11:30 in the morning."
He worried about what could have happened if a child had been wandering across the street at the time. "In situations like that, you just don't have time to react," Houk said.
