When Andrea Horton came out of the Salmon Arm post office on Hudson Avenue about 8:20 a.m. Oct. 19, she was surprised to hear shouting coming from across the street.
She looked at the Scotiabank and saw a police officer inside the foyer grab a man and “pull him and push him and then toss him towards the door of the bank… He was yelling at him that he wasn’t welcome there, he had to leave. He was very physical with him.”
She felt upset and decided to video through the open door of her vehicle.
Horton said the officer didn’t touch the man again, but he was yelling at him.
He said, ‘You know what a crime is? You’re a crime, pal.”
He then reiterated that the man was not welcome and had already been asked to leave the bank foyer about 3 a.m.
The man, who was with a woman in the foyer, said they came in because they were cold.
The officer responded: “Go get a job, go get an apartment and you won’t be cold. Go.”
The man said something inaudible about the young woman he was with, and the police officer replied:
“Maybe she wants to go back (somewhere inaudible) and earn some more drugs.”
At that point, Horton said, the man got upset and started swearing at the police officer.
“You threw me out of the f-ing bank… That’s assault,” he said, using more expletives.
“You’re not a cop, you’re a dirty cop…,” he said, swearing repeatedly.
Soon after another officer came and walked over to the scene, Horton said.
“I’m not sure if they knew I was videoing at that point… The cop who was in the original confrontation said, ‘Have a good day,’ and then walked away.”
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Horton said witnessing the altercations was upsetting, especially with what’s been featured in the news recently with police and mental health.
“When the cop said ‘get a job and get an apartment’ – it’s not that easy. He doesn’t know their story or what they’re going through and he has no business being so flippant about it.”
She said this incident is an example of why health-care workers are needed when dealing with checks and situations like that.
“It kind of made me physically ill, when I saw him pushing him around. We deal with mental health issues in our family, and that’s scary to me.”
Horton added that she understands the officer’s frustration, especially when he said the two people were told to leave at 3 a.m.
She adds: “I just think they need to have more compassion if they’re going to be in that role. Otherwise they shouldn’t be in that role because they’re not trained for it.”
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Staff Sgt. Scott West of the Salmon Arm RCMP said in an email that police have been dealing with the two individuals involved “numerous times.”
“I can say that on three occasions we have dealt with the couple at this location and told them not to return.
“On the occasion seen in the video, officers were responding to a complaint that two individuals were inside the business vestibule and were interrupting the business. When officers arrived they determined these were the same two individuals who had been asked to leave earlier the same day.
“We have dealt with the couple in the business areas around Salmon Arm numerous times over the course of the last couple of weeks, increasingly more so in the last couple of days. They have been offered services, including a place to eat and sleep, however it is our understanding that these community services are no longer available to the couple.
“These issues are frustrating for our community and police officers. I have spoken to the officer about some comments made in this interaction, however he is correct in saying, they are not welcome in the bank vestibules and this has been conveyed to the couple on a number of occasions by business staff and the police.”
Local Scotiabank employees were not permitted to speak to the Observer about the incident, but a Toronto Scotiabank communications person provided an email statement.
“While we cannot comment on individual branch matters regarding customers or non-customers due to privacy reasons, rest assured that the safety and security of our employees and customers are our top priority and our primary focus at this time.”
marthawickett@saobserver.netLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
