B.C. drunk driver bit officer during arrest, West Shore RCMP say

Lights on a police cruiser are pictured in this file photo.

A 24-year-old woman is facing a variety of charges after allegedly driving drunk, fleeing from police who tried to stop her, and biting one of them during her arrest.

The incident happened in Langford shortly after midnight Friday morning, according to a news release from West Shore RCMP.

Mounties were called to the intersection of Merchant Way and Kelly Road, where they had been advised that "a woman was observed consuming a large quantity of liquor before getting in a 2008 Hyundai Accent and driving away."

Officers located the driver on Jacklin Road near Goldstream Avenue.

"When officers advised the suspect that she was being investigated for impaired driving, she became belligerent and ran away," the release reads. "A brief foot chase and physical struggle occurred, in which the woman bit the officer’s arm. She was arrested for impaired driving, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest."

The suspect was held in custody and appeared in court later on Friday, where she was charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle, refusing to provide a breath sample, obstructing a police officer by resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer.

She has since been released from custody. Online court records associated with the police file indicate that her next scheduled court appearance is on June 13.

Police did not name the suspect in their release, but she is identified in the publicly available court documents as Britney Savarie. The charges against her have not been proven in court.

The arresting officer sustained minor injuries in the incident, police said.