A Canadian man is suing the country’s police department over claims he walked naked out of his bathroom to find a woman in a Mountie uniform standing in his bedroom — and was then mocked by officers as a “shower man.”
Kirk Forbes filed a Notice of Civil Claim in July, a year after the surprise visit, accusing Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers of abusing their authority and of not identifying himself as a police officer until Forbes demanded to know who was inside his home.
“When I opened the bathroom door, man, there I was, face to face with an intruder in my home,” Forbes told CTV News.
“A bit of a panic ensued.”
The incident occurred in June 2022 inside Forbes’ home in Coquitlam, a city in British Columbia just 25 miles north of the Washington border.
After getting dressed, Forbes walked into her living room to find a male policeman rummaging through her possessions, she claims.
The couple told him the door was open when they knocked and allegedly joked about entering the house without permission or a search warrant.
Additionally, Forbes claims the harassment was disproportionate to the reason he was being sought — to be ticketed for failing to stop for a school bus, which he claims he didn’t know he did.
Kirk Forbes claims two Mounties entered his home uninvited while he was in the shower.CTV News
“There was an extreme act — an abuse of power — that I believe happened with them coming to my house,” Forbes said.
“And I think Canadians need to realize that this has happened and it’s happening. It is an erosion of not only my rights but everyone’s rights.”
The Mounties confirmed on Tuesday that two of their officers entered the home after noticing what appeared to be “unsecured premises.”
RCMP acknowledged that the homeowner raised concerns about the entry, but said it “believes” the issue was resolved informally.
Forbes claims he came out of the bathroom naked to find a female Mountie standing in his bedroom.CTV News
Forbes, however, said he only became increasingly disillusioned with the Mounties in the months after the incident.
He made an informal complaint about the situation that morning and was told the department would investigate and report back to him, he claimed.
After three weeks passed with no update, Forbes visited the local detachment, where a receptionist allegedly referred to him as “the shower man.”
Forbes was shocked that her moment of exposure had become fodder for the department, which only caused further anxiety and embarrassment, prompting her to file a formal complaint in May.
The female Mountie was in uniform but did not identify herself until Forbes asked her to, AP claims
He has also filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages against the two officials, the Attorney General of Canada and BC’s public safety minister.
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“It’s quite worrying, not to mention embarrassing, knowing this situation has become a joke in the RCMP hall,” he said.
“If I’m depressed, or see some RCMP in the community, now do I have to look at them and tell them I’m the guy?”
The RCMP said it is investigating the incident, but the officer may have had reasonable grounds for entering without an invitation.
“There is case law that if there are unsafe premises that the police have a duty to make sure no one is injured inside, and the only way you can do that is to go in,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Alexa Hodgins told CBC News.
Hodgins said examples include “a window being broken, or a door being opened or maybe a door being open – that type of thing.”
The RCMP has yet to file a statement of defense in the lawsuit.
Forbes said he disputed the officer who broke into his home to give him a ticket that day.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
