If 22 months in prison wasn’t enough, the Attorney General of Canada is now suing the man who crashed a stolen truck into six police cruisers parked outside the Lougheed community policing office two years ago.
The mini crime spree began on Dec. 7, 2013, when Surrey resident Joseph Field stole a Jeep Cherokee and drove to Lougheed Town Centre in Burnaby. Mounties were called around 1 a.m. on Dec. 8, after a neighbour in the area spotted Field in the parking lot.
The Attorney General’s claim states it suffered damage and loss when Field “recklessly and carelessly drove the Jeep within the RCMP parking lot, colliding into one or more of the unoccupied RCMP vehicles.” But Field didn’t stop there. Court documents state that he then broke into a freight truck parked outside of Walmart and used that truck to ram five RCMP cruisers and one RCMP station wagon parked in the lot.
The documents don’t say how much money the Attorney General is seeking for damages, but at the time of the incident, Burnaby RCMP Staff Sgt. Maj. John Buis told the NOW a fully equipped police cruiser costs about $45,000. It’s unclear how much it cost the local RCMP detachment to repair the six damaged cruisers, or if they were even repaired at all. The NOW contacted the Burnaby RCMP for further information on the costs associated to the damaged cruisers, but calls were not immediately returned.
Also named in the lawsuit is Walmart, Ryder Truck Rental Canada and Paul Pouch, owner of the stolen Jeep Cherokee.
The Attorney General claims that a Walmart policy that requires all keys to be left in the Ryder trucks, which the company leased and operated, contributed to the damages suffered when Field used the truck to crash into the cop cars.
“Walmart knew or ought to have known that a vehicle left with key sin the ignition was at a high risk of being stolen,” notes the claim.
Damages are also being sought from the owner of the Jeep Cherokee, who the Attorney General says “invited” the theft by failing to secure the Jeep; leaving the keys inside or near the Jeep; and leaving the doors or windows open or unlocked.
None of the parties listed in the lawsuit have filed responses, and none of the claims have been proven in court. Field is expected to be released from custody in the new year.
