Move over, Batman: Sarnia politician Bill Dennis says he helped provincial police with a weekend arrest.
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The Sarnia and Lambton County councilor said he was driving through Petrolia about 6:30 pm Sunday with his trusty canine sidekick, Maverick.
Dennis, 55, said he noticed a man running from a vehicle and an officer “come whizzing by” and stopped to intercept.
He pulled over and, seeing the officer struggling to handcuff the suspect in a grass field southwest of Petrolia Line and Oil Heritage Road, ran over to help, he said.
Dennis said he asked the officer if he needed help. “He said ‘yes,’ and at that point, I tackled (the suspect).”
More officers arrived, police cuffed the man, thanked him “profusely,” Dennis said, and told him “most guys wouldn’t have got involved.”
Dennis, who said he’d been taking a drive to help relieve stress, added he gave his card as a counselor, said he supported police, and offered to be a witness.
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The suspect was like “a bucking bronco” resisting arrest, Dennis said, and he was concerned for the officer’s safety.
“A guy like that could have grabbed his gun or something,” Dennis said, noting he was “huffing and puffing after it was over” and normally wouldn’t put himself at risk.
Police “risk their lives and their safety for our protection, so it’s the least I could do,” Dennis said. “But I’m no fool, though. It was the right circumstances for it.”
Lambton OPP Const. Jeanine Robertson confirmed a passerby assisted with the Sunday arrest.
A man assaulted two people and tried to steal a vehicle, before fleeing and being apprehended by police, a police release said.
“While the OPP appreciates the public’s willingness to help, we strongly advise against intervening in arrests as safety remains the top priority,” she said by email.
A Petrolia man, 22, is charged with assault, robbery with violence, resisting a peace officer and public mischief, police said in a release. No injuries were reported.
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