Prince George, B.C., school trustee Erica McLean parked her vehicle to write an email on Tuesday after grabbing a coffee, and thought an unmarked police car was trying to park across from her when it bumped into the front of her Volkswagen.
She said she was “shocked,” and seconds later she was boxed in by police and multiple officers who then began yelling at her with their guns drawn, telling her to put her hands up.
“I became very aware that I had my cellphone, that anything I do, any perceived mistake or mis-movement that I could make, my life could be in danger, I could be shot,” she said.
“I did feel like my life was at risk at this point, so I held my hands up and I was trying to understand what was happening.”
McLean said she put down her phone, opened the door and was handcuffed. She began sobbing and believed she was having a panic attack, she said.
Police, McLean said, told her that the vehicle she was in had been reported stolen, but after a couple of minutes they began noticing her reaction and she was uncuffed when they confirmed the vehicle was hers.
The officers were apologetic, she said, but she’s been on an emotional “roller-coaster” ever since.
“I go through moments of anxiety, anger, fear,” she said. “It’s been a difficult week, so I am a little bit all over the place.”
McLean posted an account of the ordeal on Facebook that left her feeling “terrified.”
Prince George RCMP did not respond to a request for comment about McLean’s claims but released a statement Thursday that said officers had mistaken the identity of a person while searching for a 2025 Volkswagen Taos that had been reported stolen a day earlier.
The suspects, police said, were believed to be associated with a local crime syndicate.
The statement said members of the detachment’s street crew unit engaged in a high-risk vehicle stop because they believed the people in the vehicle were part of a known crime group.
Police said it was quickly determined that the driver they had detained was not who they were looking for, and she was released.
“We have been in contact with the driver several times since this incident occurred,” Sgt. Dan Morris, commander of the street crew unit, said in the statement.
“We have had the opportunity to explain what occurred to lead our police officers to believe hers was the vehicle we were looking for and have offered support from our victim services unit and our detachment.”
Police said the investigations have now been resolved, pointing to a BC Highway Patrol statement about five people taken into custody after a high-speed stolen vehicle stop.
The statement did not name the person detained, and addressed “concerns” about the investigation raised on social media.
McLean said she drives a black 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan, and understands that it was similar to the vehicle police were looking for, but she has many questions about the show of force used against her.
“They tried to calm me down. I would say we spent maybe 30 minutes or so trying to calm me down. I spoke to a few of them in different conversations and I couldn’t gather myself,” she said.
“That small margin of a few seconds that determined that I was this level of risk to public safety, therein lies that tiny little margin of space where I have a world of questions.”
She said she understands that police have training and protocols to follow, and that her vehicle and license plate were similar to the one reported stolen.
“But in my mind, in replaying that scenario, I think to myself that’s not good enough, if it’s similar, because there was a moment where it was determined that I looked like a risk to public safety warranted to that level of response,” she said.
She said she’s sought help since the incident and is grateful for the community support she’s received.
“While I’m still struggling, I know that there can be meaningful conversation from this,” she said. “This happened to me, and I’m not OK with it, and it’s very important for me to lean into that right now.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2026.
Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press
