Iqaluit prisoner’s bid for freedom thwarted in minutes

A detained man en route to the court house in Iqaluit, shown here, bolted from police custody Aug. 15, but cops nabbed him in just a few minutes. (PHOTO BY DAVID MURPHY)

Iqaluit RCMP took only a few minutes to quell an escaped prisoner’s bid for freedom at around 1:30 p.m. Aug. 15.

The detained man, who faces assault charges, ran away from police while en route from Baffin Correctional Centre to the Nunavut Court of Justice in Iqaluit.

The prisoner was on his way to court to appear on previously laid charges, but he didn’t make it that day.

When an RCMP vehicle escorted prisoners to the courthouse that afternoon, it parked outside a fenced-off parking area at the courthouse complex.

As soon as the prisoner stepped out of the vehicle, he bolted, ran to the four corners, and hid under a building.

One officer ran after him but couldn’t find him exactly.

More cops headed to the area. They spotted him after an “unknown anonymous lady” pointed from an upstairs office building window and yelled, “Yes, he’s under there.”

After that, the man crawled out from under the building and surrendered himself, said Yvonne Niego, the Nunavut RCMP communications officer.

Peter Takpanie, 26, is charged with one count of escaping lawful custody.

At a show cause hearing Aug. 16, Takpanie, dressed in blue sweatpants, waved at spectators while entering the courtroom.

The show-cause hearing was put off until Sept. 10 to give Takpanie time to talk to a lawyer.

Takpanie faces five other charges, including one charge of aggravated assault and one charge of assault causing bodily harm.