Northern Ont. ATV driver charged with impaired, threatening to shoot 'all of the officers'

An Ontario Provincial Police cruiser is seen in this file photo. (File)

A 25-year-old suspect was charged with impaired driving Sept. 21 after police spotted two people without helmets on an ATV on Sand Bay Road in Goulais River.

Matters escalated when the same suspect was charged with threatening to shoot police the following day.

The Sault detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police said in a news release Tuesday they were responding to another call Sept. 21 around 9:30 p.m. when officers saw the driver coming toward them on the ATV, holding a liquor bottle

"The operator attempted to evade police by approaching the parked cruiser, then quickly accelerating past," the release said.

"While doing so, the ATV struck the cruiser's front bumper in attempting to make a righthand turn, thus causing loss of control and flipping into the ditch."

The driver, who is from Batchewana First Nation, showed signs of being impaired, police said.

Charges include impaired driving, refusing to comply with a demand, dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident, failing to stop for police, driving without a helmet and littering.

The accused is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Sault Ste Marie on Oct. 21.

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Then on Sept. 22, the same suspect called the detachment about a property matter.

"While on the phone with the call taker, the accused threatened to attend the Sault Ste Marie OPP detachment with a firearm to shoot all the officers there as well as the call taker," police said.

The accused was arrested later that day and charged with three counts of uttering threats. The suspect was held in custody ahead of a bail hearing Sept. 23, when they were released.