A 21-year-old Winnipeg woman is facing charges of assaulting a peace officer, resisting arrest, and mischief, with further charges possible, after allegedly attempting to steal a taxi Monday night in Portage la Prairie.

Police say at approximately 8:40 p.m., last night, Portage RCMP received a report that a female was attempting to steal a taxi cab and had assaulted the driver on 6th Avenue NE. When officers arrived on scene, a female was observed yelling through the window of the still-running vehicle in an incoherent manner. She had damaged the dashboard and made a mess of documents and items - behaviour that led officers to believe she was impaired by drugs.

Police say the woman ignored demands to exit the vehicle and when an officer reached in to attempt to extricate the woman, she attempted to scratch the officer’s face. Police managed to remove the woman from the cab and while the officer was placing her under arrest, police say she grabbed the officer’s hand and bit down hard on the officer’s fingers.

Police at the scene were able to get the female into handcuffs and into a police vehicle. The cab driver was not injured during this incident.