A police officer in Canada threatened to issue a woman with a ticket, after she challenged him for not wearing a face mask.
In a widely shared 52-second clip, the woman—sitting in the front passenger seat of her car—is shown calmly saying to the officer: “Sir, I just have a question. Why are you not wearing your mask and you’re yelling? That’s not good, that’s not safe.”
The unnamed officer responds: “Because I’m not within six feet of you, and you know what, if you want to do it that way, I’ll just write a ticket, is that the way you want to do this?”
The woman replies: “No, I’m just asking.”
The officer continues: “I don’t need to wear a mask when I’m outside. You know what, you can give me your stuff back, you’re going to get a ticket.
“You were going to get a warning and I was being polite. You’re not being polite, so…”
The video, which was undated, was shared by a Twitter account called Sink Hole Winnipeg. Their tweet said the incident involved a “friend of a friend.”
In a statement, the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) said it was “aware of a video being shared on social media showing a WPS uniform officer during a recent traffic stop.”
Police said the driver had been stopped for not moving to a farther lane when passing a stopped emergency vehicle.
“The officer is not wearing a face mask during his interactions with the occupants of the vehicle,” the statement said.
“Winnipeg police officers are expected to wear face masks during interactions with members of the public unless social distancing is being practiced. Pursuant to the current Provincial Health orders, employees are expected to wear masks within indoor facilities accessible to the public or in private residences, where possible.”
The police department said the officer concerned had been spoken to by his commanding officer “about his conduct and the matter has been dealt with.”
“The Winnipeg Police have flagged the traffic stop for the attention of Manitoba Prosecutions,” it added. “Attempts are being made to speak with the driver in question.”
According to Canada’s Global News, the woman plans to lodge a complaint with the Law Enforcement Review Agency (LERA).
She told local radio: “I’ve never had a bad experience with a police officer before. We never really thought it would happen to us, we only see it on social media and on TV.
“I know my rights, I know that I can speak up to what was happening and the right process to deal with this matter is by going directly to LERA to take care of this.”
Newsweek has contacted the Winnipeg Police Service for comment.
