Overview

• Five parked RCMP cruisers were destroyed, and a prisoner bay was blocked with boulders during the May 3 incident involving a stolen trackhoe.
• The suspect, 62-year-old David Merko, allegedly stole the machinery from a local business, causing damage to its property before targeting the RCMP detachment.
• Merko fled the scene on foot but was located and arrested by a police dog team after a coordinated search by multiple RCMP units.
• He faces 13 Criminal Code charges, including dangerous driving, mischief, theft, and uttering threats related to an earlier incident on April 17.
• RCMP reported no injuries but expressed concern over increasing violence against officers and negative public reactions to the incident online.