Simultaneous ticket and compliance order “unfair” and “overreach” by RCMP

On Tuesday, two RCMP officers visited the Hounds of Vintage store on York street in Sackville to check the store for compliance with COVID-19 protocols under the province’s Emergency Measures Act.

Before they left, owner Derrick Dixon had both a compliance order listing 3 things he needed to do within 24 hours, and a ticket carrying a fine of nearly $300.

Dixon says he was an early and enthusiastic adopter of COVID-19 protocols, requiring masks in his store long before it became mandatory. He’s concerned about the motivations behind his ticket from RCMP Constable Christophe Bertrand.

Erica Butler spoke with Derrick Dixon on Wednesday evening to hear about his experience:

Dixon says he was in his store waiting for a delivery when two fully uniformed and armed police officers came in to do a compliance check on his COVID protocols.

Dixon keeps his written COVID policy posted on his door for customers, which he understood was a public health requirement, but he didn’t have another written copy of this policy behind his counters, and so the officers gave Dixon a compliance order, asking for that condition to be fulfilled within 24 hours. Dixon says he feels “totally fine,” about the compliance order. “I think that it’s good that the protocols are being monitored.”

But the experience was still distressing, says Dixon. “The whole time I was very anxious and felt very intimidated by two fully uniformed and armed cops in my shop. And so I just mentioned, I was like, this is a bit much, this is really anxiety-inducing for people.”

After he made that comment, Dixon says one of the officers asked him for his ID and began to write him a ticket. The ticket, which Dixon posted on social media, is for non-compliance with the Emergency Measures Act, and comes with a fine of $292.50.

One of the officers told Dixon the ticket was for not having his operational plan behind his counter, which was also one of the items in Dixon’s compliance order, signed by Constable Christophe Bertrand. Dixon says at that point two other items were added to his compliance order, as well.

“I don’t understand why I didn’t get a warning,” says Dixon. “I have operational plans, several different operational plans that I’ve changed and updated over the course of the pandemic.” Dixon keeps his plans on his computer, which he did not have with him, as he wasn’t planning on opening the shop Tuesday.

“It doesn’t feel fair. I feel like I’ve been sort of unfairly targeted,” says Dixon.

“I feel like this is definitely an overstepping, and an overreach of what should have been done. I can’t see any reasonable reason why they would give me a fine automatically for not having an extra copy of something, when that element of the compliance order isn’t even something that’s endangering people’s lives.”

The RCMP issued both a compliance order and a ticket to Derrick Dixon on Tuesday. Erica Butler spoke to RCMP spokesperson Constable Hans Ouelette on Wednesday to get a sense of how many compliance orders and tickets were being issued in the Sackville area. Ouellette was not willing to share the numbers. Here’s how the conversation went:

Ouellette says that tickets and compliance orders are being used with police officer discretion. “Tickets are being issued when appropriate,” says Ouellette. “But the important thing here is that we’re encouraging and promoting compliance, and we’re working with the communities and the province as well, and our partners with public safety.”

Ouellette will not say if it is common to issue a ticket along with a compliance order, or if orders usually come first. “Each situation would be different,” says Ouellette. “It would be on a case by case basis, and I won’t be able to discuss each situation, because then I would just be speculating… But police officers are using their discretion in either giving a ticket [or an order], because tickets or other enforcement actions are possible if people aren’t following the directives aimed at reducing the spread of COVID-19.”

Ouellette says he can’t comment on “operations or tactics” which would include the guidelines or directives the police use for deciding when a compliance order or ticket may be necessary.

“I think the important thing here is that citizens of New Brunswick need to listen, and encourage other citizens to listen, and to really work together with the recommendations that are being put forth by the public health department,” says Ouellette.

Dixon says he’d like to know why he was given a ticket. “I’m just really curious why it is that they were so heavy-handed with their compliance order and fines on a little tiny shop like mine,” he says.

Dixon recommends that other local businesses try to make sure workers are not alone in their shops as police are engaging in compliance checks in the area. “Especially if their employees are queer or Black or Indigenous or people of colour,” says Dixon, “because we all are aware of how interactions with police and systemically oppressed people go.”

Dixon has anxiety, and says, “police have sent me into panic attacks before. So I don’t actually feel safe in the presence of police knowing how they tend to deal with people… It feels like I’m in an unsafe position dealing with police when they come into my shop, and I’m alone.”

“Knowing what I know about the RCMP and their history of over-policing queer people and queer spaces,” says Dixon, “and having been a business that has been very vocal about social justice and local social justice issues, there feels like an opportunity for police to really suppress spaces like mine and others.”