'It can happen to you': Edmonton wine bar stuck with $3K in damages after police arrest
The City of Edmonton has refused to compensate a downtown business for damages following an arrest made by police in August.
According to Cheryl Voordenhout with the Edmonton Police Service, officers were searching for an armed man around midnight last summer and found the 22-year-old outside of Tzin Wine & Tapas on 104 Street.
Police set off a flash bang – an explosive device that uses bright light and loud noise to disorient people — to get the man to surrender.
The man was arrested and charged with seven offences, Voordenhout said.
'YOUR CLAIM IS DENIED'
The co-owner of Tzin Wine & Tapas, Glenn Quinn, recalled his wife being awakened by a security alert on her phone the night of the arrest.
“She saw a couple people outside on the street,” he explained. “The next thing she saw was a white van drive by and stop. There was all kinds of white flashing going off.”
Quinn’s wife went down to the restaurant around 1 a.m. to make sure everything was OK and found a card from EPS saying officers used “flash grenades” and to contact them.
There was $3,000 in damages, including two smashed windows.
The window at Tzin Wine & Tapas sustained damage following an incident involving EPS and an armed man last August. (Source: Glenn Quinn, co-owner of Tzin Wine & Tapas)
“We filed a claim with the City of Edmonton and the City of Edmonton sent us back after 180 days or something like that saying, ‘Your claim is denied,’” Quinn told CTV News Edmonton.
A review by the city found “Edmonton Police Services were acting under the scope of their duties and as such, the city cannot be held liable for damages sustained to property.”
“It's very frustrating as a small business owner and it should be frustrating to citizens of Edmonton knowing that the City of Edmonton is going to deny your claim any time the police make an arrest that causes damage,” Quinn explained.
“It certainly surprises me that a restaurant who did nothing to contribute to this whatsoever is being forced to pay for damages it had nothing to do with,” Chris Lewis, a public safety analyst for CTV, reacted.
It’s also a big bill to foot in a time when businesses are already struggling to scrape by.
“This goes back to being in a business that’s been decimated by the pandemic, so $3,000 is a lot of money,” Quinn said.
'PAY IT. GET IT OVER WITH'
The solution to this problem, according to Lewis? The city should be held accountable and reimburse the business owners.
“Pay it. Get it over with,” he said. “Why force these people to pay for something when they did nothing wrong?”
On Wednesday, Amarjeet Sohi addressed the claim and told reporters he would ask city administration to investigate.
“We’re definitely going to dig deeper into some of the procedures the city follows,” Sohi added.
“There's a problem here,” Quinn said. “It can happen to other businesses, it can happen to other taxpayers, it can happen to you.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Touria Izri
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.