The owner of a security company in Kamloops says his guard was spat on and pushed before video footage showed him assaulting a street-affected person.
Kamloops RCMP said today they are investigating the incident which happened a week ago, on March 17, at 5:15 p.m. at the storage facility for street-affected individuals at 40 Victoria Street West.
Ed Lapierre owns Lapper Entertainment and Security says it was one of his guards who was involved. He tells NL News a cell phone clip showing a guarding kicking a man, which has gone viral, doesn’t tell the whole story.
Lapierre says after the facility closed, the guard had asked a man to move along because loitering isn’t allowed after hours. He says that is when the man pushed the guard and spat in his face.
“I think at that point adrenaline just took over, and that’s when somebody decided to start recording or make it known,” he said.
“As a company, we can’t condone any physical contact, anything like that, unless it’s in self defense or risk of life. At the same time, without being directly involved in the situation, I can’t say whether his actions were right or wrong. It just appears that what was caught on tape was excessive. However, the rest of the story wasn’t shown.”
“I think every person can sit back and say ‘I would’ve done this, or I would’ve done that.’ And until they’re in the situation, they don’t really know how they would react,” Lapper added. “We in security are constantly threatened and verbally abused.”
Lapierre says the guard has now gotten death threats over the past two days, and has asked to be transferred.
“So pending any outcome of the investigation and disciplinary action, we’ll just move forward with that,” he noted.
He says it’s a weekly occurrence that his guards are assaulted by people, whether that’s being spat on or otherwise. Spitting, he says, has become a more serious concern in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding to the risk of guards catching the virus. Lapper says just last week a female guard was spat on by a someone at the Lansdowne Street transit exchange.
Kamloops RCMP Const. Crystal Evelyn said as of this afternoon, police had not yet gotten to speak with the man who they say allegedly spat on the guard before the assault at the storage facility. They are asking that man to come forward, and asking anyone else with information to speak to Kamloops RCMP.
(Photo: Kathleen Fisher Photography)
