Man tears apart store in mask protest

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/08/2020 (2011 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man’s refusal to wear a mask turned violent at a Brandon restaurant Monday as he pulled displays from the wall and yelled profanities at staff.

“It was nasty,” said Rayanne Henry, who manages the Freshii restaurant at 930 18th St.

His excuse for not wearing a mask was that he had a respiratory disease, she said, adding, “He could yell pretty good.”

Henry posted surveillance footage of the man’s outburst onto social media, and while it appears without sound Henry was able to relay what was said in a conversation with the Sun.

She said the man walked into the store, passed a display of free masks available for people to wear and approached the till, where an employee asked him to put on a mask.

Henry was initially in the back of the store, but came out front when she heard a commotion.

“Sir, we’re in a pandemic and if you have a respiratory disease, you are the one that it’s going to kill. Please help yourself to a mask,” Henry recalls telling him.

“We’re not in a f—— pandemic,” the man shot back. “You either serve me or call 911.”

As captured in the video, recorded at approximately noon, he proceeded to tear down displays and storm out of the building.

Perhaps the most worrisome part of the situation was that it took place only two hours after the store began enforcing its mask requirement. The rule was introduced Monday as a result of the province classifying Prairie Mountain Health as “Code Orange,” which brings with it more COVID-19 restrictions.

Thankfully, Henry said, he was the only customer who found it necessary to raise a fuss.

“There have been no problems at all,” she said. “The people who don’t have masks help themselves to those provided and everyone goes about their day.”

Brandon Police Service Sgt. Dave Andrew said this was one of five incidents related to COVID-19 police were called to by late Monday afternoon.

These included calls about people gathering in numbers greater than the 10 allowed under Code Orange, as well as to a another business where someone refused to wear a mask.

When it comes to their call to Freshii, he said an officer attended the scene, but police stood down when the owner said they didn’t want to pursue it any further.

None of the calls to police on Monday resulted in fines being levied.

“We’re hoping that through education we can talk to people and do as much education as possible in order to get people to abide by the rules and wear their masks for not only their safety but other people’s safety,” Andrew said.

For her part, Henry said she’d like to see the man, whom she learned from social media is from Victoria, B.C., come back into the store and pay for the damage he did, which she estimates to be as much as $100.

Even if he doesn’t make amends, she said she’s eager to move forward, undeterred in enforcing the mask requirement.

“Wear a mask,” she said. “We’re not wearing the masks to protect ourselves, we’re wearing them to protect other people. … It’s a selfless thing to do.”

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB