Steinbach mall confrontation highlights pandemic orders enforcement

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This article was published 02/02/2022 (1345 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RCMP have charged a woman who allegedly refused to wear a face mask and berated shoppers for complying with COVID-19 rules inside a Steinbach mall.

Part of the arrest at Clearspring Centre was captured in a video, which showed four officers trying to lift the maskless woman to her feet before carrying her by the arms and legs to an exit around 5:45 p.m. Monday.

Before police were called, the woman was handing out cookies and sitting on the shopping centre floor with a cardboard sign reading “I support the truckers,” referring to anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate demonstrators who’ve occupied streets in Ottawa.

She “was yelling at customers to take off their masks,” a source claimed.

On Wednesday, the 54-year-old woman, who refused to give her name, told the Free Press she is medically exempt from wearing a mask after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She denied doing anything illegal.

“If they jail me, I don’t care anymore,” said the woman, adding she has been ticketed three times for failing to wear a mask in an indoor public place. “I will lay down my life to fight for my freedom.”

When officers responded to a report of a disturbance at the mall at 5 p.m., the woman refused to identify herself or show proof she was medically exempt from wearing a mask, an RCMP news release said.

“Officers requested she put on a mask, which she refused to do and became verbally abusive to officers,” the release stated.

“After repeated attempts to get her to wear a mask or leave the premises, as well as providing a warning that she could be arrested, the officers began to physically remove her from the building at 5:46 p.m., after 43 minutes of talking to the woman to get her to leave on her own.”

Smartphone video posted on Facebook did not show what happened before police tried to remove the woman. 

The clip began with her sitting on the floor as officers tried to get her to stand.

Police struggled to lift her, as she appeared to stiffen her body, and they dragged her a short distance before stopping and asking her to stand.

“I have a spinal injury. I had spinal surgery and if you damage me,” the woman said.

“Stand up so that you don’t hurt yourself,” a female officer said.

Sitting on the floor, the woman shouted as she asked the officers if they liked their job.

“Not when I have to deal with people like you,” a female officer replied.

“You are harassing me. I have done nothing wrong,” the woman said.

The officers each grabbed a limb and carried the woman to a set of doors, where she was again asked to stand.

In a second clip posted to social media, the woman was heard breathing loudly and coughing as she lay on her side near the doors.

“Deep breath in, deep breath out. We have EMS en route,” a female officer said.

The female recording the video heckled police, calling them “disgusting” and “You don’t deserve to be wearing your badge.”

RCMP said the woman began to have “laboured breathing,” and was helped by officers until paramedics arrived to take her to hospital, where she was treated and released.

She was charged with failing to comply with a public emergency health order for not wearing a mask in an indoor public place. The fine for such an offence is $298.

RCMP said the officers’ actions were carried out under the supervision and authorization of Steinbach detachment commander Staff Sgt. Harold Laninga.

At least one member of mall staff had asked her to put on a mask before RCMP arrived, a source said.

She has been banned from the mall until further notice.

Clearspring Centre declined to comment.

The incident highlights volatile situations that potentially await Manitoba’s police officers, public health inspectors and private security guards as they enforce provincial COVID-19 public health orders.

In Winkler, where shoppers have expressed concerns about maskless customers in big-box stores, police Chief Ryan Hunt said most people caught flouting the rules “take it in stride” and do not react negatively.

He said officers haven’t faced any violence while enforcing the rules.

“You get dialogue like, ‘This isn’t right,’ but we’re not seeing any assaultive behaviour,” said Hunt. “You get some who are angry because they’re getting a ticket, but we haven’t had any big issues here.”

Meanwhile, Winnipeg Police Service officers are assaulted and verbally abused on a daily basis, said spokesman Const. Jay Murray. “I don’t know if there are any incidents specific to mask use, but it happens all the time.”

Brandon Police Service spokeswoman Sgt. Kirby Sararas was not aware of any incidents where officers faced aggression for enforcing coronavirus rules.

“Occasions when we are called to speak with someone who is not in compliance with the mask mandate have been very rare,” she wrote in an email.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching