Two people are in custody and a Stratford Police Service officer is recovering from injuries after an incident on Tuesday night that continued into Wednesday.
At about 10:30 Tuesday night Stratford Police were investigating a stolen vehicle complaint at a gas bar on Ontario Street.
At the gas bar, an officer found a vehicle that had been confirmed stolen from Parkhill. The officer got out of his cruiser and approached a male suspect who was coming out of the gas bar store.
The male suspect pushed the officer to the ground and ran to the Dodge Ram pickup truck where he got into the passenger seat. A female suspect was in the driver’s seat. The officer pursued the suspect to the truck and while attempting to pull him out of the vehicle also advised him, he was under arrest.
The female suspect drove away at a high rate of speed. The officer entangled with the male suspect was unable to get away. The officer was dragged alongside the vehicle, through the parking lot before falling and nearly being run over. The officer suffered several injuries and was taken to the hospital. The officer is now resting at home with family but will be off work for an undetermined amount of time.
Despite not being able to locate the vehicle until Wednesday, police spotted the suspects and vehicle at a train crossing near Dublin. An attempt to box in the suspect vehicle failed after the male suspect drove directly at an officer on foot. The officer was able to dodge the vehicle and escape injury
The male suspect then crashed into two cruisers before driving off the road. At this point the male suspect drove directly at another cruiser before taking off on foot. The male suspect was arrested moments later. The female suspect was arrested without incident as she had remained in the truck.
The male and female have been identified as 27-year-old Joseph Cluett of Mitchell, and 30-year-old Kayla Field of Goderich. Cluett is known to police and is currently bound by a probation order after being convicted in January 2022 of several charges.
Both suspects remain in custody with court dates at the end of this month.