VIDEO: Maple Ridge man gets commendation for assisting Mountie under attack

A Christmas Day outing with the family turned into a scene out of an action film for Maple Ridge’s Eric Antell.

He was returning from a trip to a North Vancouver beach in 2019 with his wife and two daughters, when he said he spotted an altercation between a Mountie and a suspect at 227 Street and Lougheed Highway, in front of Budget Brake and Muffler.

“I noted it was a female police officer, so I just whipped into a parking lot,” he said.

“She was on her back with the person on top, and I could hear the taser going off, as soon as I opened the car door.”

Antell said the female suspect was “laying the boots” to the officer while trying to reach for her gun, so he sprang into action and charged.

He ran towards the scuffle, tackled the suspect off of the officer, and pinned their arms down until help arrived.

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Two officers were injured by the suspect, who was acting erratically, and trying to hurt herself with a sharp metal object.

While other bystanders filmed the incident, Antell was the only one to lend a helping hand.

Acting Officer in Charge Wendy Mehat presented Antell with a certificate of commendation on Monday morning.

The detachment was hoping to do a more formal presentation, however with COVID restrictions still in place, it didn’t want to extend the presentation any longer.

The presentation was held outside the Ridge Meadows RCMP headquarters, but nobody was invited as the Mounties did not want to draw a crowd.

“The Ridge Meadows detachment wanted to acknowledge and thank Mr. Antell for his bravery and selfless actions in helping out not only the community but one of our police officers,” said Mehat.

“The certificate of commendation was our way to say to Mr. Antell how much we appreciate his courage.”

Antell was honoured to receive the commendation, but also quite humble.

“I’m proud,” he said. “It was a nice moment.”