RCMP arrest man accused of stabbing police officer in neck after days long search
Posted July 25, 2020 2:00 am.
Last Updated July 26, 2020 9:02 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BRIDGEWATER, N.S. – Nova Scotia RCMP say they have arrested a man accused of trying to kill a police officer by stabbing him in the neck, bringing a days-long manhunt to an end.
Police had been searching for Tobias Charles Doucette since the incident at a hotel in Bridgewater, N.S., on Monday night.
Doucette was charged with attempted murder after he allegedly struck an officer in the neck with an edged weapon as police responded to a domestic violence call. He was also charged with assault on his common-law partner.
RCMP announced early Sunday that the Cape Breton man had been arrested without incident.
The Mounties had been focusing their search for Doucette in Conquerall Bank, N.S. where he was believed to be on Tuesday.
He was spotted by an RCMP dog and handler, but police say he escaped into nearby woods after allegedly stabbing the dog with a stick.
After going several days without finding any trace of him, police decided to direct their search resources based on the strength of tips received on Doucette’s potential whereabouts.
Police responded to two possible sightings of him in Bridgewater, N.S., on Friday.
That evening they set up a perimeter after spotting bare footprints that Bridgewater deputy chief Danny MacPhee said were suspected to be Doucette’s, but they didn’t find the fugitive.
On Saturday night, they reported another possible sighting _ this time in Lunenburg County. RCMP urged people in the area of Conquerall Mills Road and Highway 3 to stay inside and keep their doors locked.
Wilbert Marshall, the chief of Potlotek First Nation where Doucette is from, had pleaded on Thursday for the 31-year-old to turn himself in to the authorities.
“Please surrender yourself. Nothing’s going to happen to you. I promise that,” Marshall told reporters during a news conference alongside the RCMP.
Bridgewater police Sgt. Matthew Bennett, who was injured in Monday’s incident, is recovering following surgery.
Doucette’s common-law partner was treated for minor injuries sustained in the same incident, while the injured police dog was reported to be in stable condition.
