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Iqaluit cabbie held up at knife-point

Police dog nabs suspected robber

JOHN THOMPSON

Lar, the RCMP “V” Division’s police dog, tracked a suspected armed robber across the tundra between Apex and Iqaluit two weeks ago. Lar arrived in Nunavut in mid-August this year. (PHOTOS BY JOHN THOMPSON)

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That could have been the end of the story, if a four-year-old, 86-pound RCMP officer didn’t arrive at the scene shortly afterwards and began sniffing the ground to find the trail.

Lar, the RCMP “V” Division’s purebred German shepherd, led three policemen and his handler, Cpl. Dean Muir, across the tundra. Half an hour later and one kilometre away, Lar tracked the scent to a nearby communications tower. Underneath, facing away from police, lay the suspect.

Police asked him to get up and put his hands where they could see them. When he didn’t, they released the dog. Several bites later, Archie Aipellee, 19, was arrested. After his bites were treated at the hospital, police put him in custody.

“If they’re non-compliant, the animal will be deployed,” Muir said. “It’s preferable to having an officer stabbed.”

Cpl. Dean Muir travels with the dog.

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“I used to drive at night last year,” said another female Iqaluit cab driver, 24, who works for Tuktu Cabs and who was at the courtroom to show support for her colleague. “It’s more than double the money but I wouldn’t do it anymore. It’s too violent.”

Aipellee faces charges of attempted armed robbery and breach of probation. He is to appear in court January 19 in Clyde River.

The probation order dates back to when he was convicted of assaulting two men in Clyde River on April 13, 2005 with a baseball bat.

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