Bronco driver in Mississauga tries to drive over police cruiser at Tim Hortons

A call about a suspicious vehicle ended with a Ford Bronco sitting atop a Peel police cruiser at a Tim Hortons drive-thru in Mississauga Tuesday.

Peel police said they received a call at around 6:30 p.m. from an individual who was concerned about a person in the area of Westwood Square shopping mall, near Goreway and Etude drives. The man had allegedly stolen items from a store a couple of weeks ago and had returned with weapons, police said.

Police located the vehicle and determined that it had been stolen.

Officers surrounded the stolen vehicle and a number of cruisers were then damaged, police said.

Video circulating on social media shows the large red and black Bronco sitting atop the cruiser.

In the video, police arrive to box in the vehicle at what appears to be a drive-thru window. The driver initially tries to reverse, but sees that he cannot back away. An officer then gets out of his vehicle and points a gun at the passenger-side window and tries to instruct the driver.

After a moment, the vehicle is then seen accelerating forward and attempting to go over the police cruiser to escape. However, the vehicle is unable to fully mount the cruiser and eventually backs off, revealing a shattered front window on the cruiser.

The scene unfolded on a warm evening while it was still light out,  before a crowd of onlookers.  

The sequence of events “was terrifying,” a witness told CP24.

“I honestly thought they (police) were going to shoot,” he said.

He said police Tazed the suspect when he eventually climbed out of the passenger-side window, and officers then tackled him.

The 25-year-old driver was eventually taken into custody by police, who have since charged him with three counts of possession of property obtained by crime, flight from police, dangerous operation, and obstructing a police officer.

He has been held for a bail hearing.

No one was injured in the incident.