HALIFAX -- A 35-year-old Dartmouth woman is facing several charges including impaired driving and assaulting a police officer, following an incident on Saturday in Dartmouth.

Police say at approximately 6:18 p.m. on Feb. 13, RCMP responded to a 911 call of a possible impaired driver on Highway 118 near Burnside Drive. Police say the vehicle was reported to be driving erratically and swerving on the road.

An officer located the vehicle and saw that there were two small children in the back seat. The officer administered a roadside screening device, which police say the driver failed.

The officer offered to allow the driver to call a family member or friend to be with the children as the suspect would be transported to the detachment for further testing.

Police say at this point, the driver became agitated, exited the vehicle and put an unknown item into her mouth. When the officer asked what it was, the suspect refused to tell him.

Police say the officer was concerned that swallowing the item could have severe health consequences, so he attempted to remove it from her mouth, at which point she bit his finger and refused to let go.

Police say the officer used physical force to remove his finger and the item from the suspect’s mouth. The item was determined to be a hard candy.

The officer received minor injuries. The suspect had no visible or reported injuries.

The accused was taken to an RCMP detachment to provide further breath samples, which police say confirmed she was over the legal limit.

The driver, a 35-year-old woman from Dartmouth, is facing the following charges:

  • Impaired Operation of a Conveyance
  • Operating a Conveyance with a Blood Alcohol Concentration Over 80 mg%
  • Assaulting a Peace Officer
  • Obstruction (Resisting Arrest)

She was later released and is scheduled to appear in Dartmouth Provincial Court on April 28.

Police say the investigation is ongoing, and has been referred to the Nova Scotia Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), which independently investigates all serious incidents which arise from the actions of police in Nova Scotia.