A videojournalist was sprayed with bear mace while filming a homeless camp in Abbotsford, B.C.
View this video on YouTube
Freelancer Kevin Macdonald was shooting some B-roll of the encampment Wednesday for a CTV News broadcast when a woman demanded he stop filming without permission.
“We don’t want our fucking picture taken,” the woman said. “Come and ask us. Don’t stand across the street and take fucking pictures.”
On the video, Macdonald tells her there’s nothing illegal about filming in a public place, after which she sprays a can of bear mace in his direction and walks away.
An Abbotsford Police spokesperson told BuzzFeed Canada the 39-year-old woman, who cannot be identified, was arrested shortly after the incident. Police recommend a charge of assault with a weapon.
Just been bear maced at homeless camp can't see and yes it's on tape
BuzzFeed Canada reached out to Kevin Macdonald for comment.
Five hrs after attack still red as hell thanks to everyone that helped today @AbbyPoliceDept @IAFF_Local_2864
The B.C. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that homeless people have the right to sleep in public parks, a long-running source of tension in Abbotsford.
B.C. Supreme Court sides with homeless in dispute with city of Abbotsford https://t.co/is7qbDN2cw
Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson said not letting people camp in the park violates their Charter rights to security of the person. As long as the tents and other shelters are taken down during the day, the city can't kick them out, Hinkson ruled.
Abbotsford has taken a hardline approach to homelessness in the past. In 2013, city staff even spread foul-smelling chicken manure around a homeless camp in an effort to force people out.