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- Police officers in full gear stand next to the Canada Post building in downtown Woodstsock. (Jared Horncastle photo)
Woodstock, Fredericton police, two fire departments and town public works participate in early morning police operation
The Woodstock Police Force confirmed the arrest of one person following a high-profile police operation in the heart of downtown Woodstock.
Woodstock police issued a notice about the operation at 5:30 a.m., asking the public to avoid Main Street, near the post office and the L.P. Fisher Library.
Photos from the scene show the police focus on an apartment building next to the post office. The swat-style police operation included the town force, the Fredericton Police Force, the Woodstock and Hartland fire departments and members of Woodstock public works.
In a release announcing the operation’s completion at 7:47 a.m., Woodstock Police Sgt. Paula Hanson thanked all the participating agencies and the public for their assistance. While police offered few details about the operation, photos indicated the use of the Hartland Fire Department ladder truck to reach the top floor of the apartment building and the presence of a Fredericton Police Force armored vehicle.
In her release, Hanson said criminal charges are pending against the person arrested and taken into custody concerning an ongoing investigation.
Hartland Fire Department Chief Mike Walton said the police were already on the scene for a few hours before they contacted his department requesting the ladder truck at 6:43 a.m.
“They were there since two o’clock, probably,” said the fire chief.
Walton said the ladder truck helped officers reach the roof of the apartment building. He explained the suspect was in the building’s attic and refused to come out.
He said police officers were able to use tear gas from the roof to force him out.
“We took them to the roof, and they dropped the tear gas in the building,” Walton said.
The Hartland fire chief said his department’s ladder truck has been used in many ways, but never in a situation like this.
“This is a first,” he said. “Another notch on our belt.”
Woodstock Fire Chief Harold McLellan also said he attended the scene only in a support role. He said that police primarily needed use of the ladder truck, but he knew details about the building’s fire alarm system.
