Manitoba RCMP laughing after suspect mistakes unmarked police car for taxi

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. — Manitoba RCMP are laughing after an intoxicated man jumped into the back seat of an unmarked police cruiser he mistook for a taxi.

“Take me to 17th Street, bro,” the would-be passenger told the Mountie behind the wheel early Sunday morning in Portage la Prairie.

RCMP say it turned out the 19-year-old was a suspect in a report about a drunken man causing a disturbance.

“I think at that time he knew he had made quite the mistake,” Cpl. Julie Courchaine said Wednesday.

“(Officers) just took him back to the detachment where he could have time to sober up.”

RCMP were posting messages about the case of mistaken police car identity on social media.

“It is just kind of a funny situation that we wanted to share with the public,” said Courchaine.

“It’s not always doom and gloom – there are some funny aspects of our job and sometimes it’s nice to let the public know about those things.”

RCMP say the man was released without charges. (CTV Winnipeg) 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Aug. 12, 2020

The Canadian Press