A Canadian police officer was caught on video giving a driver a ticket after a passenger in the car asked him why he wasn't wearing a mask.
According to CBC, the incident took place on Tuesday (December 8), and saw a Winnipeg police officer - who had stopped a car on Portage Avenue in the Silver Heights neighbourhood - being asked by a passenger in the vehicle why he wasn't wearing a mask.
"Sir, I just have a question... Why are you not wearing your mask and you're yelling? That's not good. That's not safe for us," a woman in the passenger seat said, per CBC.
The officer, who has not been named, tells the passenger - also unidentified - that he is not wearing a face mask because he is outside and is not within six feet of her - despite talking to her right outside the car through the open window.
This is the moment the police officer upgrades his warning to a ticket after being asked why he's not wearing a mask:He can then can be heard saying, "I'll just write a ticket. Is that the way you want to do this?"
The woman tells the officer, "No. I'm just asking."
She then asks him if he is required to wear a face mask when he's close to people in a vehicle. "Even if you're close? I'm just asking. It's just a question."
The officer then replies, "OK, you know what, you can give me your stuff back, you're going to get a ticket then."
He adds, "You were going to get a warning. I was being polite. You're not being polite."
Per CBC a longer version of the clip shows the officer leaving, before returning with a face mask more than 25 minutes later. He then hands out the ticket.
"See, since it bothered you, now I put one on, but now he's getting a ticket," said the officer.
According to the outlet, the Winnipeg Police Service said in a statement the following day that the car had been stopped as the driver did not move to a far enough lane when passing a stopped emergency vehicle.
It also said officers are obliged to wear face masks when interacting with the public unless there is adequate social distancing.
"The officer has been spoken to by his commanding officer about his conduct and the matter has been dealt with," the WPS said in the statement.
"The Winnipeg police have flagged the traffic stop for the attention of Manitoba Prosecutions. Attempts are being made to speak with the driver in question."
Winnipeg Police Board chair Coun. Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River) said:
"It sends a message that we can't question police, that their authority is ultimate, and we have to work collaboratively together.
"We have to work in a space of trust and where somebody asks a reasonable question, he could have responded in a different manner."
The passenger and her boyfriend, the driver, plan to file a complaint with the Law Enforcement Review Agency.
She said: "I was just really mad because me and my boyfriend are health-care workers, and that really ticks me off when people don't wear masks, because … [of] what's going on right now with COVID and the code red in the city."