Bonnyville, Alberta RCMP say they don’t believe there was any risk to the public and that a trackhoe incident last week was directed at the RCMP.
Shortly before 7 p.m. last Thursday a suspect drove a stolen trackhoe into the parking lot of the Bonnyville RCMP detachment. After stealing 
the trackhoe from a local business, and damaging a fence in the process, the suspect picked up boulders along the way which were then dumped in front of the prisoner bay of the detachment.
In a news release RCMP say they believe it was an attempt to delay officer’s ability to respond to calls. The trackhoe was then used to damage five unoccupied parked police vehicles. The suspect fled on foot but was tracked down in the treeline nearby. 
A 62-year-old man, David Merko of Bonnyville, is facing 13 criminal code offences one of which is Utter Threats and is connected to an April 17th incident in which police believe Merko called OCC, or dispatch, in Saskatchewan and uttered threats to kill RCMP officers. Merko is in Alberta Court of Justice in Bonnyville Tuesday.
No one was injured in these incidents, but Alberta RCMP note a steady increase in violence towards police with the most recent statistics indicate that on average, there are 2.3 incidents of violence occurring every day towards Alberta RCMP officers. In 2023, 70 Alberta officers were injured as a result of use of force incidents.
Bonnyville is approximately 152 kilometres northwest of Lloydminster.
