Vancouver — The Ford pickup truck was weaving wildly across the highway leading into Victoria, B.C., nearly hitting four cars.
A driver behind the truck thought the erratic driving posed an extreme danger. He moved over to block anyone from passing and used his cellphone to report a drunk driver to police.
As they approached a construction zone, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He speeded up and drove into the Ford pickup truck, forcing it off the road.
Police arrested the erratic driver, who will likely face charges for driving while drunk and for refusing a breath-analysis test, a police officer said. However, police withheld criticism of the other driver yesterday.
The incident was the second time this week that British Columbians took matters into their own hands and found some support from the police.
A Victoria grocery-store owner was notified this week that he will not face charges for attacking and injuring a middle-aged woman who tried to rob his store.
The attitude of police in British Columbia was in sharp contrast to Quebec, where two Montreal-area store owners were charged this week with aggravated assault after beating up a burglar. The thief was charged with breaking and entering, which carries a lighter sentence, if he is convicted, than the charge against the store owners.
However, a B.C. government spokeswoman cautioned against jumping to any conclusions about a higher tolerance in the province for vigilante justice.
"It depends on the facts and the circumstances in each case," said Lee Porteous of the Attorney-General's Ministry in an interview.
The law allows a victim of crime to use force, but it has to be reasonable, she said.
The collision with the drunk driver happened about 11 p.m. Thursday on a highway running from Victoria to the mainland-ferry terminal. Construction crews were resurfacing the road during night-time hours.
The names of the two drivers were not available yesterday.
Sergeant Peter Snell of the Central Saanich Police Service said the driver who crashed into the other vehicle may be within his rights under a Criminal Code provision that allows a person to use force to prevent an indictable offence.
"When he saw workmen ahead, he felt he had no choice but to try and force this vehicle off the road to stop bodily injuries," Sgt. Snell said.
"His intentions were good and proper. Nobody knows what would have happened if he had not done it."
Sgt. Snell said he was not making any judgment about the driver's behaviour. "Like any accident, it will be investigated," he said.
He also said he was not encouraging anyone to take similar actions. "We always advise people that the first response should be to tell police and let police deal with it," he said.
In Victoria, storekeeper Felix Li chased Cheryl Green out of his store on Jan. 19 after she tried to rob him.
Ms. Green subsequently pleaded guilt to armed robbery. She was intoxicated at the time of the crime, wore a nylon stocking over her face and had threatened Mr. Li with a kitchen knife, police said yesterday.
Mr. Li, whose store had been robbed several times recently, ran after her to see the licence plate of a vehicle he thought was waiting for her. She turned around and raised the knife, police said. Mr. Li struck her with a piece of wood, hitting her on her arm, head and nose.
After Ms. Green was sentenced to six months in jail, police were asked to investigate whether Mr. Li should be charged with assault. He was told this week that no charges would be laid.
Sergeant John Craig of the Victoria Police Department said store owners can defend themselves.
Police encourage shop owners to hand over whatever a thief demands and then call police, he said.
"But a shop owner has the right to defend his shop," he said. The police determined that the force Mr. Li used was reasonable in the circumstances, Sgt. Craig added.
