Burnaby RCMP will be investigating “all angles” of an altercation at a local Canadian Tire store Monday involving a man who refused to wear a mask.
Police were called to the Market Crossing Canadian Tire at about 4:26 p.m. for an alleged assault, according to media spokesperson Cpl. Mike Kalanj.
As officers were en route, the store reported a man at the store had refused to put on a mask and then refused to leave.
“(The store) said that they were going to escort him out, and then he assaulted several of the employees,” Kalanj said.
By the time officers arrived, however, the man was already in cuffs, according to Kalanj.
A cell phone video posted online captured part of the confrontation.
The man can be seen in a store aisle surrounded by what look to be store employees.
“My human rights are trumping your f***ing mask mandates,” the man yells.
Toward the end of the video the man is placed in a chokehold as employees try to cuff him.
At one point the man yells, “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.”
Mounties arrested the man, and Burnaby RCMP is now investigating the incident.
“My understanding is that video doesn’t show what the initial call was for,” Kalanj said of the video circulating on the internet.
“What we were called for allegedly happened before the video.”
When asked if assault charges could be laid against the store employees, Kalanj said, “It all depends on where it leads. We’re not saying no. We’ll see where the investigation leads us. I imagine there’s more CCTV, there’s more cameras in the store.”
“We’re going to fully investigate this, and that means all angles,” he said.
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