Alberta’s education minister Thomas Lukaszuk became embroiled in a justice issue Monday night when he was pulled over by pranksters who appeared to have been pretending to be police.
Lukaszuk was driving along St. Albert Trail Monday at 4:20 p.m. when he spotted red and blue flashing lights on what he believed to be a police vehicle behind him.
He pulled over along the trail and when no one got out of the vehicle he pulled into a side street, assuming the officer did not want to engage in a traffic stop on the snowy main artery.
When he did pull over onto the Rivercrest Crescent however, the vehicle pulled alongside him and drove away, revealing teenagers, not police behind the wheel.
Lukaszuk followed the pranksters along Rivercrest, blocked them in a parking lot and called police, who he said arrived very swiftly.
He said Tuesday that in retrospect it might not have been the best move.
“Engaging with individuals who break the law directly is probably best left to police, but sometimes you feel that it is safe to do so and you get engaged directly,” he said.
Lukaszuk said the police were there quickly and he didn’t engage with the teenagers, but did prevent them from going anywhere.
“I made sure that they stayed there and the police showed up instantly.”
Cpl. Laurel Kading with the St. Albert RCMP said police talked to a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old male who were in a dark blue Chevrolet Cavalier. She said the pair was released with a traffic ticket, but the police are looking into the matter and criminal charges could still be laid.
“We can still lay charges once we decide what the best course of action is here.”
The traffic ticket was for having flashing lights in an unauthorized vehicle, but Kading said any possible criminal charges would hinge on how the lights were used.
Kading said in instances like this police welcome reports and information about suspicious vehicles, but don’t recommend attempting to stop someone from leaving the scene.
“We encourage our residents to take licence plate numbers, get vehicle descriptions and call us. We have the training and the equipment to actually do the stops and deal with people.”
Kading said with Monday’s weather, anyone engaging in a fake traffic stop was creating a real hazard and it could have lead to a dangerous situation.
“We look at the potential for how this could have been, yesterday at 4:20 when the roads were not in good conditions, the weather was bad and visibility was not good.”
She said police don’t have any other reports of a fictitious traffic stop, but if anyone encountered a similar incident they should call police at 780-458-7700.
