VICTORIA -- Mounties in Nanaimo are asking for a Good Samaritan to identify himself after officers responded to a complaint of a man spitting on an employee at a retail store Sunday.
The Nanaimo RCMP responded to a Dollarama store at 10:45 a.m. where a man allegedly spat on an employee who told him he could not shop at that time because hours were reserved for seniors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Police say they located the man on a nearby bus bench on Estevan Road, near the Brooks Landing Mall.
When an officer approached the man, police say he became combative and the officer called for backup. Before fellow officers arrived, however, a citizen driving by saw the altercation and stopped to assist the officer.
“While he did not directly intervene, the simple gesture of him standing with the officer had a settling effect on the combative male,” said Const. Gary O'Brien in a release Monday.
“This allowed for the incident to be resolved safety and for the suspect to be taken into police custody.”
The Nanaimo RCMP are now asking for that passerby to come forward to give a witness statement and to receive a thank-you from the police.
Anyone who knows the man is asked to have him contact the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345 and quote file #2020-14389.
