The mayor of Kamloops says he feels good about his decision to take a path beyond the courts in bringing settlement to an incident which took place at a downtown bar in the summer of 2024 in which he was — without doubt — the victim.

But he also suggests he remains the victim of a deeper-seeded root in that incident — coverage of his time in office.

Reid Hamer-Jackson has confirmed to Radio NL he took part in the so-called Restorative Justice process to clear the air over an incident which took place on a Friday evening in June of 2024.

Hamer-Jackson, who was at the Blue Grotto on Victoria Street taking in the Friday evening bands along with his wife at the time, had a beer poured on him by someone who passed by while leaving the bar.

Hamer-Jackson claims the man said “I f***in’ hate you” as he drenched the Mayor and then left the bar immediately thereafter.

The incident was caught on internal security video, eventually allowing Kamloops RCMP to identify the person involved.

That man has not been publicly identified, and will not be going into the public record for the incident due to the Restorative Justice process — something Hamer-Jackson says he hopes will allow his assailant to continue on without an assault charge hanging over him.

“We sat down, we talked about things, and I could ask questions,” said Hamer-Jackson of the recently-concluded session, which can be chosen by the victim as an alternative to taking certain incidents through the justice system.

“He gave me a really nice letter of apology—real…from the heart,” added Hamer-Jackson.

“When I left, I told him he could call me anytime if there were issues or questions in the future.”

Hamer-Jackson does admit to a level of apprehension about entering into the process, saying his initial concern was for he and his family’s personal safety.

“I wanted to know if the person was dangerous,” said Hamer-Jackson.  “I didn’t know the person, so I wanted to make sure he didn’t have weapons or a criminal record.”

“You want to know if your safety’s at risk,” added Hamer-Jackson, who says once he learned his assailant was a young family man, he says he wanted to make sure the incident didn’t hang over him on a permanent basis.

“He made a mistake, he was out with some friends, had some drinks… and he’s got a young family,” said Hamer-Jackson.  “I met them [the assailant and his wife] and he apologized.”

“It was great that we could come to the same page,” added Hamer-Jackson.

Mayor contends incident connected to media coverage

While adopting a magnanimous approach toward the man who physically poured a beer on him, Hamer-Jackson contends it is the media in Kamloops which ‘poured the pint’ and is ultimately responsible for his ending up being soaked in beer that Friday night.

“It was very clear that he [the assailant] was motivated by certain media sources that tell stories in a very biased way,” claimed the Mayor in conversation with Radio NL.

“Once I learned that, I felt relieved,” he added, suggesting media coverage of his time as Mayor has left he and his family under a consistent level of threat.

“It was important to me to understand why it happened.”

Hamer-Jackson’s claim of a media role in the beer-dumping case cannot be verified unless the assailant were to come forward with his own thoughts and version of events.

The Mayor did also not specify which media outlet or individual he was directing his accusations at, but it is the latest in a series of claims Hamer-Jackson has made against the media in Kamloops.

RCMP at the end of August dismissed a report of assault the Mayor had made against the News Director of Castanet Kamloops, determining that a brief encounter involving Tim Petruk tapping Hamer-Jackson on the back as he was leaving a north shore pub did not constitute assault.

At the time the Mayor reached out and contacted various members of the media about the assault allegations he and another person filed together against Petruk, he was asked by Radio NL if he would like to see prosecution move forward if charges were ultimately filed to the Crown.

“Absolutely,” the Mayor told Radio NL at that time.  “This guy’s not friendly to me.”

The Mayor has also had issues with Radio NL and the coverage of his tenure in office over the past three years.

This includes a long-running dispute with former afternoon host Brett Mineer which eventually led to a high-profile incident on July 15th, 2024, when the Mayor called a news conference to discuss “resignation consideration.”

Media outlets sent reporters to the news conference, which took place at a time when the Mayor was facing growing calls by the other members of Kamloops council for him to step down from office.

The calling of the ‘news conference’ was later revealed to be a ruse, with the gathered media there to hear Hamer-Jackson announce his intentions to run again in 2026.

This included at least a dozen or more of his most ardent and vocal supporters.

It was one of those supporters who would demand that Brett Mineer — who was sent by Radio NL to cover the event in a role as a reporter — move out of his way so, seemingly, he could more closely witness what was taking place as part of the media ‘scrum’ after-the-fact among the reporters and the Mayor.

Mayor of Kamloops and Radio NL reporter at news conference July 15, 2024       Link to full video HERE

Hamer-Jackson is also maintaining a long-standing complaint about an internal news promotion which continues to run on Radio NL from time-to-time involving allegations against himself, something he brought up once more in conversation on Friday.

“I’ve asked you [Radio NL News/Program Director Paul James] about it, I’ve asked him [Councillor Mike O’Reilly] about it, but every day I hear it on Radio NL that I’ve got four WorkSafe[BC] complaints against me,” lamented Hamer-Jackson at the end of the conversation on Friday.  “And it’s going to motivate, maybe, somebody that doesn’t know me to do something.”

“My safety’s at risk, including my family,” added Hamer-Jackson.

The ‘promo’ in-question includes a small section of a discussion Radio NL had on the air with Councillor Mike O’Reilly — deputy Mayor and council spokesperson at the time — following the release of the so-called Honcharuk Report into allegations of work place harassment and other bullying behavior levelled against Hamer-Jackson by City Hall staff.

The Honcharuk Report and its fallout have become the main undercurrent which drives much of the political discontent and machinations which continue on a regular basis at City Council meetings even now.

Radio NL News promotion which runs on a rotation throughout the day

It should be noted that Radio NL will be taking this internal promo off the air before January 1st.

This is in respect to the electoral process, as both Mayor Hamer-Jackson and Councillor O’Reilly have declared themselves as candidates for the top elected position in Kamloops in the forthcoming municipal election next October.

Elections BC declares January 1st as the start of the official Election Period for local office on election years.

Mayor hopes Restorative Justice can ease burden on courts

As for the beer-dumping incident at the Blue Grotto, the RCMP considers the matter closed, which Hamer-Jackson suggests has allowed the Restorative Justice process to work.

“It saves the RCMP time, court time, and it saves a young person from having a permanent assault charge over a mistake,” said Hamer-Jackson.

“For serious offenders, it’s different.  But for cases like this, it’s really good.”

Asked whether he might consider this approach for other legal challenges or to smooth over his relationship with other members of Council, Hamer-Jackson was far less inclined.

“Well, you know, I think it’s a little late for that,” argued Hamer-Jackson after a taking a moment with the question. 

“When people are accusing you of monitoring their bathroom visits and being creepy and spying on them and blackmailing them… these are public officials.”

Listen to the full conversation with Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson HERE.

—With Files from Jeff Andreas and Brett Mineer