Kenora man arrested after officers attacked with edged weapons, OPP says

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A Kenora man who was conditionally released on charges of assaulting a peace officer has been arrested again after three police officers were injured Tuesday in the northwest Ontario city while responding to a report of an assault.

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Officers with the OPP division in Dryden, about 200 km east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, were responding to an assault call at an apartment building on Pitt Ave. around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday when they were attacked by a person armed with an edged weapon , the OPP said in a press release.

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Two of the officers suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospital in non-life-threatening condition, the OPP said, and have since been released. A third officer suffered minor injuries.

Dilan Ames, 30, of Dryden, was arrested and charged with assault, public infidelity, two counts of aggravated assault on a peace officer and three counts of resisting a peace officer. Ames had previously been conditionally released after he was accused of assaulting a peace officer in connection with an incident in December 2022.

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The OPP association took to social media page X on Wednesday in praise of the injured officers while expressing its dismay at the incident.

“Thankfully, officers will be fine,” the OPPA said. “We are very concerned that the person arrested has been given a suspended sentence for a previous assault on police. We will continue our focused efforts to address legislative changes that result in repeat offender violence against the police.”

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The federal government is under pressure to reform the bail system after a series of incidents of repeat offenders and violence against police, including the killing of six officers in two years in Ontario.

Grzegorz Pierzchala was shot dead near Hagersville in December 2022, which followed the Toronto Police Const shooting. Andrew Hong, 48, South Simcoe Police Consts. Morgan Russell, 54, and Devon Northrup, 33, and OPP Const. Marc Hovingh, 52.

Toronto Police Const. Jeffrey Northrup, 55, also died on duty after being run over by a vehicle in July 2021.

The government introduced Bill C-48 in May, which would amend the Criminal Code to allow anyone charged with a serious violent crime involving a weapon after being convicted of a similar crime within the past five years to face the reverse obligation to obtain bail.