Bodycam footage shows Alberta RCMP officer dragged during traffic stop on stolen vehicle north of Edmonton

Four people are facing charges after a Mountie was dragged during a vehicle theft arrest.

Alberta RCMP released body camera footage of the incident, saying this highlights the increase in violence towards law enforcement.

It happened Tuesday in Gibbons, Alta., when an officer with the Morinville RCMP Detachment conducted a traffic stop on a stolen vehicle parked at a gas station.

As the officer went to arrest the occupants, police say the driver started the vehicle and put it in reverse, striking the officer who jumped into the moving vehicle to avoid injury.

The officer was able to pull the keys from the ignition as the vehicle struck a tree. When the officer began to arrest the occupants, police say the driver pulled a shotgun out from between the seats, exited the vehicle, and threw it in the bed of the truck.

“That’s a shotgun, man!” the officer can be heard saying in the video.

The officer suffered minor injuries from the incident.

“Every day there are on average 2.2 acts of violence towards Alberta RCMP officers in the province. Since 2023, instances of assault on police with a weapon or causing bodily harm has increased 23 per cent,” said Darcy McGunigal, detachment commander with the Morinville RCMP.

The search resulted in the seizure of small amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl; a false bill of sale; and a sawed off shotgun and ammunition.

Ryan Calvin Grant, 42, Cassandra Joy Bruno, 34, Michael James Racicot, 38, and Jo-anna Elaine Nussey, 42, were arrested and charged with possession of stolen property, weapons offences, and more.

None of the allegations have been tested in court.

Gibbons is about 35 kilometres north of Edmonton.