An unmasked man who smashed a bottle on the ground of Government Street Liquor Store after employees asked him to put on a mask has been fined by the RCMP.
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The incident occurred around 11 p.m. Sunday night (Dec. 6) when a man entered the store without wearing a mask. According to posts circulating social media, the man was asked to put on a mask by staff at Government Street Liquor Store. He reportedly refused to put on a mask or accept one from staff, stating “it’s not the law.”
A staff member then told him they could not serve him without a mask, prompting the man to smash a bottle of liquor on the ground before leaving.
RCMP confirmed that the man has now been identified and served with an “abusive behaviour violation” ticket under B.C.’s COVID-19 Related Measures Act (CRMA). The man was identified by RCMP through his license plate number.
Penticton RCMP Const. James Grandy said that retail employees should try to avoid putting themselves in danger when faced with similar situations.
“You don’t want to be putting yourself in a situation where there’s going to be a physical altercation,” Grandy said. “If you have somebody that’s being quite belligerent and it’s escalating you want to remove yourself from the situation as best you as you can and, if you need to, call police to come and don’t further escalate the issue.”
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jesse.day@pentictonwesternnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
