THREE OFFICERS INJURED IN DRUG BUST

GOODERHAM -- Heavily armed officers in camouflage, dogs and a
helicopter scoured the woods near Gooderham for a man with a mohawk
yesterday after three officers were hurt in a drug bust.

The officers -- including one from the Peterborough County detachment
- -- were injured Wednesday night when a man rammed two cruisers with a
pickup truck during a marijuana bust that erupted in gunfire and high
speed chases, The Examiner has learned.

Peterborough County OPP Const. Jamie Brockley was treated for a neck
injury following one of two collisions during the chases.

Brockley, also of the Kawartha Combined Forces Drug Unit, confirmed he
was injured but wouldn't elaborate.

"I've been told not to say anything about anything, not even to other
police officers. I'm not allowed to discuss it until further notice,"
Brockley said.

The Examiner learned police fired shots following a fight with
suspects, which involved one officer being knocked unconscious from
one or more punches.

There was no information about what or who officers fired at or
whether anyone was injured from gunfire.

OPP Const. Pam Higham said she didn't know the names of the injured
officers, but they were "all right" following medical treatment.

According to sources, officers were investigating an outdoor marijuana
operation off Highway 507 near the Gooderham dump at 5 p.m. Wednesday
when they encountered men in the field.

Higham said she suspected it was a marijuana field, but had little
information for the public on what happened.

She did say the Huronia Drug Enforcement Team was at the
scene.

Both Higham and Haliburton Highlands Detachment spokesman Const. Mark
McMaster said the criminal investigation branch out of OPP
headquarters in Orillia is investigating.

He wouldn't confirm if shots were fired or if it was drug-related.

McMaster would only say an officer from Haliburton Highlands tried to
stop a vehicle, but the driver ignored him and fled.

"Two more cruisers assisted him trying to stop the vehicle," McMaster
said. "They were damaged."

He said three officers were treated at hospital for minor injuries.

The car chase began on McColls road east of Gooderham, about 80
kilometres northeast of Peterborough.

Police had that road blocked off yesterday afternoon.

Tanner McCausland, 13, lives on McColls Road at the edge of the road
block.

He said he heard gunfire around 5 p.m. Wednesday.

"Six or seven shots," he said. "Then I went up there and there were
police cars smashed."

The chase turned into a search several kilometres away on Milburn
Road, a dirt road off Highway 503, where police found the abandoned
getaway vehicle.

"The helicopter was coming down and looking us over," said Milburn
Road resident Bill Powell. "I waved to the guy in the chopper because
he was right over my horses. I didn't realize, about 150 yards from
the house here, whoever they're after ditched their truck. They did
tell us if someone with a mohawk comes to the door, call 911."

Within hours, OPP had set up a command post in his front yard.

Uniformed officers also guarded the mouth of a trail on the other side
of the property. Police cars, a forensic identification van and
officers carrying rifles occasionally emerged from the woods there.

Powell said the command unit went up about 1 a.m. yesterday.

"Then about eight o'clock all hell broke loose again," said Powell.
"I've never seen anything like it before. I'm taking pictures because
my kids won't believe it. There's something big going on."

Dozens of cruisers, SUVs, ATVs, a large transport vehicle, tactical
trucks, command centre trailer and a helicopter covered Powell's large
lawn.

When the helicopter landed, whipping up leaves and dust, the smell of
fuel was noticeable several hundred feet away.

Members of the tactical response unit, covered in green, applied
camouflage paint to their faces while men in white shirts talked
around a picnic table.

Children at the Powell house played in the yard near men with rifles
and bulletproof vests.

After securing their weapons and gear, including audio head pieces,
the tactical officers jumped into vans with blacked out windows and
headed to an unknown location.

A large generator hummed in the yard, giving life to the command
centre as the sun set and darkness fell.

Late last night, McMaster said police were still searching.