During a May 5 press conference, Staff Sgt. Sarah Parke identified 62-year-old Bonnyville resident, David Merko as the suspect who stole a trackhoe and used it to destroy five unoccupied RCMP vehicles at the detachment on May 3, which cause roughly $450,000 in damage.
Merko has been charged with 13 offences under the Criminal Code, including dangerous driving, break and enter, six counts of mischief over $5,000, possession of stolen property over $5,000, theft over $5,000, two counts of obstructing and resisting arrest, and uttering threats. “The last charge of uttering threats was as a result of an April 17th incident in which David Merko called OCC (dispatch) in Saskatchewan and uttered threats to kill RCMP officers,” reads the information released by RCMP.
Police say Merko stole the trackhoe from a local business moments before the attack and drove it through a fence. “On his way to the detachment, the suspect picked up several boulders and took them with him to the detachment. Upon his arrival, he dropped them in front of our prisoner bay door, in an apparent attempt to hinder our officers’ ability to respond to calls,” Parke said.
The five RCMP vehicles that were damaged were unoccupied and no officers were injured.
Merko fled on foot and the Bonnyville RCMP was assisted by several units including the Real Time Operations Centre, St. Paul police dog services with their police dog PDS Chase, Cold lake RPAS (drone support), Eastern Alberta District General Investigations Section and Crime Reduction Unit, and the Elk Point RCMP detachment.
“The Real Time Operation Centre is based out of K Division headquarters and is comprised of RCMP members who oversee and quarterback high risk incidents such as this while they are unfolding. Their involvement in these types of incidents are not only increasing our chances of catching a fleeing subject, but they also increase officer safety safety while we’re doing that. So, they truly are an invaluable resource to the RCMP.”
Merko was found hiding in a treeline just northwest of the detachment by police dog PDS Chase. Merko resisted arrest and fought with officers and was bitten by PDS Chase. Once in custody, Merko was treated at the Bonnyville hospital for minor injuries and released.
Parke said neighbouring RCMP detachments quickly stepped in to assist, ensuring there was no disruption in service. “Alberta RCMP officers from neighbouring detachments did not hesitate to assist us, ensuring the suspect was quickly taken into custody, as well as ensuring there was no interruption in the overall police service in Bonnyville, that the community members have come to expect and deserve.”
When asked about future security changes, Parke said the Bonnyville detachment will be reviewing the incident. “Incidents like this can be frightening for communities, but in this instance, we believe there was no threat to the public as the Bonnyville RCMP was clearly the intended target of this attack.”
She also addressed a wave of troubling online reactions. “This incident has garnered a lot of attention on social media, and unfortunately, many of the comments are negative, some of which are threatening towards RCMP to the point of expressing disappointment that officers were not injured or killed during the incident. All RCMP officers come to work, day in and day out, to protect and serve their community. It is extremely disheartening to see these types of comments made.”
Parke added that violence against police officers in Alberta is on the rise, with RCMP now seeing an average of 2.3 violent incidents per day.
She confirmed that no signs of drugs or alcohol played a role in the incident. While the damaged vehicles are out of service, Parke said residents may see Bonnyville RCMP members using vehicles from nearby detachments like Cold Lake or St. Paul. “Our ability to provide a service to the community hasn’t been hindered,” she said.
