Man threatened to shoot Beaumont peace officer over parking ticket: city

The City of Beaumont says one of its community peace officers was threatened while issuing a parking ticket.

The officer was issuing a ticket on an illegally parked vehicle in the Montrose Estates neighbourhood on March 16 when he was confronted by the vehicle's owner, the city said.

The city says footage from the officer's vehicle camera shows the owner threatening to get a firearm from his home and shoot the officer if he didn't remove the ticket.

“I understand that no one is ever happy to get a ticket, but threatening public employees is never acceptable. They are here to serve this community and they do it each day with care and dedication,” said Mayor Bill Daneluik in a news release.

“Municipal Enforcement and RCMP officers are welcome and respected members of our community. They are doing their jobs and they have my full support. We have zero tolerance for violence or threats of violence against public employees.”

The officer was offered mental health support following the incident.

“A threat like this would be unsettling in any circumstance, but it was incredibly disturbing that it occurred hours after two Edmonton Police Service members were shot and killed in the line of duty,” said Jay Melvin, Director of Protective Services. “Fortunately, our officer was able to keep the situation from escalating, as he is trained to do. He did the right thing and we back him fully.”

Police have charged the 45-year-old resident with uttering a theat of bodily harm or death, and willful obstruction of a peace officer in the execution of their duty.