An RCMP cruiser was involved in what police themselves call a “very risky” chase over the weekend, a pursuit that for a time saw both vehicles headed north in the southbound lanes of the QEII highway.

Mounties are now investigating why the officers chased the stolen truck up the wrong side of the road, RCMP Insp. Gibson Glavin said Monday.

The chase started around 1 p.m. Saturday, when police spotted a stolen truck, which took off at what Glavin described as “a fairly high rate of speed.”

The pursuit began near Nisku. At some point, both the cruiser and the stolen truck drove north towards oncoming traffic in the southbound lanes of the normally busy highway.

“What we know of this particular pursuit causes us great concern,” said Glavin. “Any time our vehicles are pursuing another vehicle in the wrong lane, or in any way that could possibly be of concern to the safety of the public, that’s a very risky thing to do.”

“We wouldn’t normally engage in any type pursuit of a stolen vehicle that had risk to the public,” he said. “That is an overriding concern of ours.”

The RCMP will conduct “a full internal review” of the chase, he said, “to make sure we know exactly what happened. Why the pursuit occurred, and what was going on in the minds of our members, what they felt they were dealing with. We’re very pleased that nobody was hurt in this event. But we have very significant concerns about it.”

The stolen truck escaped police, who abandoned the chase for safety reasons in south Edmonton. The whole thing took only a matter of minutes, Glavin said.

The RCMP helicopter is stationed at the Edmonton International Airport, but it was not involved in Saturday’s chase.

Police are still looking for the stolen truck.