A man is suing his local police department over claims he walked out of the shower and found a female officer standing in his bedroom.
Kirk Forbes claims he was later mocked as “the shower guy”. According to the New York Post, Forbes has filed a Notice of Civil Claim, accusing the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer of abusing their authority and not identifying herself as a police officer until the homeowner demanded to know why she was there.
Speaking to CTV News, Forbes said: “When I open the bathroom door, bang, right there, I’m face to face with an intruder in my house. A little bit of panic set in.”
The incident is said to have taken place in June 2022 inside Forbes’ home in Coquitlam, a city in British Columbia just 25 miles north of the Washington border. He claims he got dressed and walked into his living room to find a male cop rifling through his property.
Forbes alleges the pair told him the door swung open when they knocked. He claims they joked about entering the home without consent or a search warrant.
The complainant also says the disturbance was disproportionate compared to why the Mounties wanted to speak to him. He says he was served a ticket violation for not stopping for a school bus, which he claims he didn’t know he committed.
Forbes added: “There’s such a gross overreach – an abuse of power – that I believe happened with them coming into my home. And I think Canadians need to be aware that this has happened and it is happening. It’s an erosion of not just my rights but everybody’s rights.”
The NY Post says the Mounties confirmed Tuesday that two of their officers entered the home after noticing that it appeared to be “an insecure premise.”
The RCMP acknowledged that the homeowner raised concerns about the entry, but said it “believed” the issues were resolved informally. However, Forbes claims he became increasingly upset with the police.
He claims he made an informal complaint on the morning of the incident, and was told someone would get back to him. After three weeks passed, he said he visited the local detachment, and was called “the shower guy” by a receptionist.
Forbes alleges this caused him further anxiety and embarrassment. It was then he lodged a formal complaint.
He has also filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages against the two officers, the Attorney General of Canada and the B.C. minister of public safety.
Forbes added: “It was pretty concerning, not to mention embarrassing, to know that this situation has become water-jug banter at the RCMP hall. If I get pulled over, or see some RCMP in the community, now do I have to look at them and have them know that I’m that guy?”
According to the NY Post, the RCMP said it was investigating the incident. However, it said its officers could have had good reason to enter without an invitation.
“There’s case law that if there’s an insecure premise that police have a duty to make sure that nobody’s injured inside, and the only way you can do that is to enter,” RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Alexa Hodgins told CBC News.
Hodgins said examples include “a window being smashed, or a door opening or maybe the doors already open — those types of things.”
The RCMP has not yet filed a statement of defense in the lawsuit. Forbes meanwhile says he is disputing the ticket violation.
