Senior helps RCMP officer attacked during traffic stop in northern Alberta

ST. PAUL, Alta. — RCMP are thanking a 75-year-old man who helped an officer after he was attacked during a traffic stop near St. Paul, Alta., last weekend.

Marshall Dulaba says when he saw a man staggering toward his home, he was covered in so much snow you couldn’t see his uniform underneath.

The constable had been punched in the head and dragged behind his vehicle after pulling over a suspect in a domestic incident on the Whitefish Lake First Nation.

Dulaba says at first he thought the man was drunk, but when he opened the door he saw blood running down the officer’s forehead.

The constable asked to use the senior’s phone and called for help.

Dulaba says because the officer couldn’t seem to remember what had happened, he became concerned the man might have a concussion so he kept the officer talking.

“We start talking about him and his family,” says Dulaba. “He told me his dad was 76, you know. They are from Quebec.”

Dulaba says RCMP officers arrived within minutes and asked if the injured officer could stay until an ambulance arrived.

“I kept talking to him as much as I could. And then he kept answering sensibly but he asked me at least four times, ‘How long have I been here?’ So I knew that he wasn’t right.”

Dulaba says the ambulance arrived about 45 minutes later. The officer was taken to the St. Paul hospital, treated and released later Saturday night.

He is now back at work on light duties, which means he is not being dispatched to calls in the community.

Const. Allan Watt is commending Dulaba and other community members for helping the officer and assisting RCMP in finding a suspect within about 90 minutes of the attack.

Dominic Timothy Jackson faces seven charges including assault on a police officer causing bodily harm and attempting to disarm a police officer.

“The apprehension of this individual would not have been possible in such a short amount of time without the help of several community members who came to his assistance, including the man who let the officer into his house,” Watt said.

Dulaba smiles when asked how he feels about being considered a Good Samaritan.

“Well, I always try to be. Never was in trouble with the law yet for 75 years!”