Thunder Bay police charge Shoppers Drug Mart security guard with assault

Thunder Bay police say they’ve charged a 29-year-old man with assault causing bodily harm following an incident on Feb. 3 during which a Shoppers Drug Mart security guard body slammed and handcuffed a First Nation youth in the northern Ontario city.

The incident garnered public attention after a video was circulated on social media.

It shows a plain clothes security guard walking the Indigenous teen through the store while holding the teen’s hands behind his back.

The youth appears to pull one hand free. The security guard then lifts him off the ground and body slams him. It’s not clear in the video whether the teen’s head made contact with the floor but the impact was significant.


In a Feb. 5 statement, Loblaw, the parent company of Shoppers Drug Mart, called the incident “absolutely unacceptable,” and said they were “deeply concerned by what happened.”

They said “Shoppers Drug Mart has a no-touch policy, which means pharmacy owners, their store employees and their security partners are not allowed to physically engage with anyone in our stores.”

Following the incident APTN News spoke with a friend of the teen’s family, who said the teen was visiting Thunder Bay from Kingfisher Lake First Nation, a fly-in community in northern Ontario, for medical purposes.

The source told APTN the teen was “traumatized” from the incident and “still in pain” at the time.

Thunder Bay Police said at the time officers were called to the store for “a report of a theft.” In Wednesday’s news release they said they had interviewed eyewitnesses, reviewed the footage and other evidence, and “learned that a possible assault linked to this incident may have occurred.”

They say the accused, who is from Thunder Bay, has been released and will appear in court on March 22.

They later confirmed that the youth in the video is not facing charges.

Police are not releasing the security guard’s name as the charges have not been sworn in by the courts.

In their statement earlier this month Loblaws apologized to the teen’s family and said the security guard’s “use of force and handcuffs is a clear violation” of their policy.

They said they had “been in contact with the third-party security provider and have recommended disciplinary action – including restricting the security guard from working at any of our stores.”

news.ca

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38 thoughts on “Thunder Bay police charge Shoppers Drug Mart security guard with assault

  1. Robyn Lawson says:

    “Put your hands behind your back; stop resisting”…

    This is person who has enjoyed far too many video replays of POC being taken down by police. It’s the first level attempt to cover one’s butt when they know they’re being filmed. smdh.

  2. I don’t see y he had to pick him up n slam him on his chest, what if he had an medical heart issue. If the security gaurd is trained in any self Defense he should of used his Defense instead of slamming him chest first on the floor. That guy should take em to court

    1. It’s unfortunate that we don’t get to see what led up to this (not to say that the security guards actions would be justified but to have a better understanding of what happened before this). Either way, I agree with your comment and find his actions was excessive and unnecessary.

  3. Unacceptable! Whether he is store security or a police officer. Assault is assault. The amount of force a cop/security officer uses is justified only by the amount of force being exhibited by the so called offender. The young man had not left the store apparently and therefore him being restrained in the manner shown was a violation of his civil rights. Those who represent the law are to be held accountable for their actions. A cop or security officer can not use extensive force whenever they feel like it. This security officer could have been placed under citizen’s arrest by any bystander for his actions. Police can also be placed under citizens arrest if a bystander believes their actions to be extensive. We all complain about law enforcement accountability and forget that there are laws already in place to make them accountable. Sometimes the police or law enforcement in general need policing!

  4. All trained security guards do not do this to anyone….that youth had stolen nothing..and we dont carry our own handcuffs. That particular floor is concrete and could cause death the way he threw him down. Witnesses should have intervened. and restrained the guard

    1. Well…you’re assuming ”All trained security guards do not do this to anyone” …. but you don’t actually know that for a FACT. Unless you’ve asked ‘All trained security guards’ yourself. Just saying.

  5. No one has the right to touch anyone else in a store like Shoppers. Some of these security guards being paid minimum wage think they are above the law. About time to sue the guard and Shoppers!

  6. Canadian Law are BS. Protecting and spoiling the criminals. As if the police wont do the same if that teen do that to them.

    The problem in Canada is these petty criminals are not scared of the law and they know theh will get away with it anyway.

    1. You know not of what you speak. Canadian laws protect the person with the most money period.Our justice systems are severely broken,and in Calgary in particular our police are very heavy handed regardless of guilt or innocence. When Cslgary brought in former military during the 88 Olympics to clean up the city,it was the old west again. Police will overcharge everyone,knowing that a plea deal will happen giving them a guilty verdict and a win in their books,regardless of justice…Our policing and courts are seriously corrupted by money.

  7. why don’t they release his name? it’s not like he’s a minor, people should who this person is if he’s a violent person!

  8. Nice edited footage- you should put the whole video up and show the part where the youth is fighting with the guard and is waving a carbon steel weapon around. Piss poor reporting here. SHAME on you APTN, you should know better than this.

    1. I watched the whole video I didn’t see any metallic object. I saw a terrified teenager. Trying to escape a totally irrational person. If I had been there I would have intervened. I felt the child was in danger of being seriously hurt. There is no rational for the security guards actions.no need for him to attack anyone.

    1. SINCE WHEH DO SECURITY GOONS HAVE THE RIGHT TO CARRY HANDCUFFS??????If indeed the store does have a no touch policy where in hell do handcuffs fit in the picture ???

    2. How do you know what he did?????.
      So if your child or mother or sister was the teen you would still find this acceptable?

  9. While Thunder Bay police are quick to charge this security guard, what about the Thunder Bay police officer who appears to have slapped an individual in a gurney?

    Do Thunder Bay police have double standards?

  10. Unacceptable! Whether he is store security or a police officer. Assault is assault. The amount of force a cop/security officer uses is justified only by the amount of force being exhibited by the so called offender. The young man had not left the store apparently and therefore him being restrained in the manner shown was a violation of his civil rights. Those who represent the law are to be held accountable for their actions. A cop or security officer can not use extensive force whenever they feel like it. This security officer could have been placed under citizen’s arrest by any bystander for his actions. Police can also be placed under citizens arrest if a bystander believes their actions to be extensive. We all complain about law enforcement accountability and forget that there are laws already in place to make them accountable. Sometimes the police or law enforcement in general need policing!

  11. “Put your hands behind your back; stop resisting”…

    This is person who has enjoyed far too many video replays of POC being taken down by police. It’s the first level attempt to cover one’s butt when they know they’re being filmed. smdh.

  12. All trained security guards do not do this to anyone….that youth had stolen nothing..and we dont carry our own handcuffs. That particular floor is concrete and could cause death the way he threw him down. Witnesses should have intervened. and restrained the guard

    1. Well…you’re assuming ”All trained security guards do not do this to anyone” …. but you don’t actually know that for a FACT. Unless you’ve asked ‘All trained security guards’ yourself. Just saying.

  13. I don’t see y he had to pick him up n slam him on his chest, what if he had an medical heart issue. If the security gaurd is trained in any self Defense he should of used his Defense instead of slamming him chest first on the floor. That guy should take em to court

    1. It’s unfortunate that we don’t get to see what led up to this (not to say that the security guards actions would be justified but to have a better understanding of what happened before this). Either way, I agree with your comment and find his actions was excessive and unnecessary.

  14. Canadian Law are BS. Protecting and spoiling the criminals. As if the police wont do the same if that teen do that to them.

    The problem in Canada is these petty criminals are not scared of the law and they know theh will get away with it anyway.

    1. You know not of what you speak. Canadian laws protect the person with the most money period.Our justice systems are severely broken,and in Calgary in particular our police are very heavy handed regardless of guilt or innocence. When Cslgary brought in former military during the 88 Olympics to clean up the city,it was the old west again. Police will overcharge everyone,knowing that a plea deal will happen giving them a guilty verdict and a win in their books,regardless of justice…Our policing and courts are seriously corrupted by money.

  15. While Thunder Bay police are quick to charge this security guard, what about the Thunder Bay police officer who appears to have slapped an individual in a gurney?

    Do Thunder Bay police have double standards?

  16. No one has the right to touch anyone else in a store like Shoppers. Some of these security guards being paid minimum wage think they are above the law. About time to sue the guard and Shoppers!

  17. why don’t they release his name? it’s not like he’s a minor, people should who this person is if he’s a violent person!

  18. Nice edited footage- you should put the whole video up and show the part where the youth is fighting with the guard and is waving a carbon steel weapon around. Piss poor reporting here. SHAME on you APTN, you should know better than this.

    1. I watched the whole video I didn’t see any metallic object. I saw a terrified teenager. Trying to escape a totally irrational person. If I had been there I would have intervened. I felt the child was in danger of being seriously hurt. There is no rational for the security guards actions.no need for him to attack anyone.

    1. How do you know what he did?????.
      So if your child or mother or sister was the teen you would still find this acceptable?

    2. SINCE WHEH DO SECURITY GOONS HAVE THE RIGHT TO CARRY HANDCUFFS??????If indeed the store does have a no touch policy where in hell do handcuffs fit in the picture ???

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