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Maple Ridge woman guilty of pepper spraying police officer

Assaulted officer during traffic stop in June near Revelstoke
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A Maple Ridge woman pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer with a weapon. (Black Press files)

A Maple Ridge woman who pepper sprayed an RCMP officer last summer near Revelstoke has pleaded guilty.

Samantha Lorraine Almond, now 27, was sentenced on Dec. 9 to a six-month conditional sentence order and 12-months of probation with conditions. Almond pleaded guilty to one count of assault of a peace officer with a weapon, and one count of possession of stolen property under $5,000.

The criminal charges stemmed from a June 7 incident near Revelstoke, on the Trans-Canada Highway, when police stopped a GMC Tracker towing an enclosed utility trailer for a Motor Vehicle Act violation.

READ ALSO: Maple Ridge woman accused of pepper spraying RCMP officer during traffic stop

“During the course of what started as a routine traffic stop, the driver deployed pepper spray at the police officer, while the officer interacted with the woman at her driver’s side window,” said police spokesperson Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey, at the time. “While our officer was dealing with the temporarily disabling effects of the pepper spray, a male passenger exited the vehicle and the suspect fled the area eastbound along the highway.”

The officer was treated on scene by paramedics. The male passenger was a hitch hiker who had been picked up by Almond.

Almond was located a few kilometers from the scene, hiding in the trailer and distraught. A search of her vehicle revealed a loaded crossbow, pepper spray and a knife.

“This shocking situation highlights the inherent dangers that frontline police officers face each and every day they go to work,” said Staff Sgt. Kurt Grabinsky, Revelstoke RCMP detachment commander.

“This officer remained focused on her duty to protect and serve the public by continuing her investigation and relaying important details to other officers in order to safely apprehend the woman who posed a potential risk to herself and others.”


 


ncorbett@mapleridgenews.com

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Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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