Man facing numerous charges after police chase through Toronto, stabbing of officer in robbery

Toronto police at the scene of the arrest of a 47-year-old man downtown on Wednesday. (Grant Linton/CBC – image credit) A 47-year-old Toronto man is facing numerous charges after he was chased through the city by police cruisers and a police helicopter on Wednesday until he was forced to stop. Jim Dimce Kaluzovski has been charged in connection with the stabbing of an off-duty officer during a retail robbery in Scarborough on Dec.

6 and with the kidnapping of a man who was forced into a U-Haul truck on Wednesday. The man who was abducted at gunpoint managed to jump from the U-Haul truck without getting hurt, police said. Police cruisers, along with a York Regional Police helicopter, tracked Kaluzovski from Scarborough to Durham Region to downtown Toronto on Wednesday, finally boxing him in with vehicles downtown before his arrest.

In a news release on Thursday, police said the chase of Kaluzovski began in the area of Danforth Road and Wolfe avenues, near Midland Avenue, and ended in the area of Church and Carlton streets. The kidnapped man jumped out at Kennedy and Ellesmere roads. “The accused drove in a reckless and dangerous manner and caused multiple collisions throughout the city.

Thankfully only minor injuries were sustained by a police officer and members of the public,” police said in the release. Two days after the robbery in which the officer was stabbed in the wrist, police said they identified the accused as one of four suspects in the incident. The officer had attempted to intervene in a robbery at a Best Buy store at Scarborough Town Centre in the area of McCowan Road and Progress Avenue on Dec.

6. Police are seeking three other people in that incident. On Wednesday, police said they were in the area of Danforth Road and Wolfe Avenue searching for the accused.

Police said they did not know it at the time, but a man had forced his way into an apartment, took another man at gunpoint, then forced the second man into a vehicle and drove away with him inside. That vehicle was a U-Haul truck. Accused drove recklessly through city, police allege

Police allege in the release that officers saw the accused at about 11:30 a.m. driving the U-Haul truck, which they later learned had been stolen on Tuesday. Police said officers identified themselves and tried to stop the truck, but the accused refused to stop and drove into two police vehicles, striking two officers, one of whom suffered minor injuries. Story continues

Police allege that the man hit other vehicles as he tried to evade the officers and fled with the victim in the truck. Police said they followed from a safe distance behind. When the accused slowed to turn at Kennedy and Ellesmere roads, the victim jumped from the truck.

“The accused continued to drive recklessly, at high speeds, running multiple red lights, driving onto sidewalks, into oncoming traffic, and hitting several vehicles and a cyclist,” police said in the release. Police enlisted the help of York Regional Police’s helicopter, which followed the accused into Durham Region then back into Toronto. At one point, police allege that the accused reversed his vehicle, hitting an unmarked police vehicle in the area of Yonge and Jordan streets.

The officer was not hurt. Members of the police’s Emergency Task Force blocked the vehicle and arrested the man in the area of Carlton and Church streets, police said. Police later recovered an airsoft pistol.

Man facing 8 counts of leaving accident scene

The man has been charged with the following in connection with the Dec.

6 stabbing: robbery with a weapon; aggravated assault on a peace officer; assault with a weapon; weapons dangerous; carry a concealed weapon; possession of property obtained by crime over; two counts of possession of property obtained by crime under.

The man has been charged with the following in connection with Wednesday’s kidnapping and police chase:

• Break and enter.

• Point firearm.

• Four counts of assault with weapon.

• Threaten bodily harm.

• Carry concealed weapon.

• Kidnapping.

• Possession of property obtained by crime over.

• Dangerous operation causing bodily harm.

• Assault peace officer and caused bodily harm.

• Assault peace officer.

• Seven counts of dangerous operation.

• Eight counts of leave accident scene — fail to assist.

Kaluzovski was due to appear in court via video link on Thursday.