Man says Yellowknife bylaw officer threatened him after speeding incident
A man in Yellowknife says he's disappointed with how the city responded to his complaint about a confrontation with a Municipal Enforcement Division officer last month.
Dale Shewchuck, the complainant, said he confronted a bylaw officer about the officer's alleged speeding. Shewchuck said he asked the officer about it several times and that the officer threatened him with arrest if he didn't leave.
"It was pretty degrading. He was really aggressive," Shewchuck said. "He threatened to take my liberty and ... I've spent 20 years defending my country in the navy and I've been to several war zones."
Shewchuck said the incident happened on March 12. He had been driving on Old Airport Road and Franklin Avenue when he determined, based on comparing his own vehicle's speed, that the officer in an unmarked Municipal Enforcement Division vehicle was speeding.
"The road was very slippery and my original concern was if he ... spun out in front of us that he could cause a larger accident," he said.
He said it became particularly problematic for him when the officer was speeding in a school zone on Franklin Avenue.
Shewchuck said he followed the vehicle to the parking lot adjacent to Yellowknife city hall.
"I pulled in and pulled in front of his car so he couldn't drive away," he recounted.
[The officer] said he would never drive in such a manner unless in an emergency situation with emergency lights activated. - Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty in an email
Shewchuck said he walked up to the car, staying about arm's length away, and then asked the officer why he was speeding.
"He replied, 'I wasn't speeding anywhere,'" he said.
Shewchuck said he asked him again, and the officer asked him to step away from the vehicle. He said he then asked the officer the question a third time.
"[The officer said] 'If you don't get away from my vehicle,'" recalled Shewchuck, who then said he interrupted the officer.
He said he asked what the officer was going to do, and whether he was going to arrest him — to which, Shewchuck said the officer replied "yes."
Shewchuck, who said he had his three-year-old child in his car at the time, told the officer that he planned to submit a written complaint, then he got into his car and drove off.
'His account is not consistent with yours': Mayor
Shewchuck provided CBC News with the response he got from Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty.
In it, Alty said the officer had reported what happened to the director of public safety on March 13, the day after the incident. She said the director interviewed the officer.
"His account is not consistent with yours and the officer in question said he would never drive in such a manner unless in an emergency situation with emergency lights activated; he said he had no reason to do so," the email reads in part.
We couldn't make a determination on one person's account over another. - Eric Bussey, Yellowknife director of public safety
Shewchuck said he's not satisfied with the response, and he wants an apology for how he was treated.
Eric Bussey, the city's director of public safety, said he couldn't speak to the specifics of the case, but confirmed he investigated the complaint.
"We couldn't make a determination on one person's account over another," said Bussey.
There will be no penalties against the officer.
"We used the complaint as an opportunity to reinforce procedures with our entire division, just to ensure that everyone understands what's expected, the requirement to be role models in the community, and to exercise the highest level of conduct in performing their duties," Bussey said.
Municipal Enforcement Division officers do not have the power to arrest people, but they can detain people, such as by pulling a driver over for a traffic infraction, Bussey added.
