Woman arrested for coughing on grocery store clerk in Coquitlam
Posted April 15, 2020 1:38 pm.
Last Updated April 15, 2020 1:39 pm.
COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) — A woman has been arrested and is facing charges after she allegedly coughed on a grocery store clerk for not allowing her to buy more toilet paper, according to Coquitlam RCMP.
Mounties say they were called to a grocery store on Parkway Boulevard Monday afternoon because “an irate customer had deliberately coughed on a grocery store clerk,” adding she was apparently angry for being told she couldn’t buy more than the maximum limit of toilet paper.
“This is a great example of why we need to keep perspective, take a breath, and treat essential workers like grocery store clerks with the respect they deserve,” says Cpl. Michael McLaughlin. “Whether you deliberately cough on police, hospital workers, or grocery clerks, abuse or assaults against essential workers will not be tolerated.”
A 25 year old woman in #Coquitlam has been arrested and released with a court date after coughing on a grocery store clerk. Why – because the clerk limited the amount of TP she could buy.
— Bruce Claggett (@BruceClaggett) April 15, 2020
The 25-year-old woman was later arrested at her home after RCMP watched surveillance footage of the alleged assault.
She doesn’t have a significant history with police and has been released with a notice to appear in court, says RCMP.
RELATED: ‘I stood in total shock’: Woman says stranger coughed in face, claimed to have COVID-19 in Surrey
Other instances of people deliberately coughing on others have happened around the Lower Mainland during the pandemic.
At the end of March, two Metro Vancouver transit officers went into self-isolation after they were apparently coughed on during an arrest in New Westminster.
