A vigilante incident sent one Campbell River man to the hospital and led to four arrests.
The vigilante incident
When the Campbell River RCMP responded to a call for assistance, in the 100 Block of Thulin St, they found four men leaving a home with belongings they claimed were theirs.
The 40-year-old occupant of the home was found badly beaten inside.
The four men were arrested for Assault Causing Bodily Harm and subsequently released, pending a later court date.
Advice for would-be vigilantes
Constable Maury Tyre, of the Campbell River RCMP, advises would-be vigilantes, “It’s easy to understand the level of anger that get’s created when one’s home is violated. However, we urge members of the public not to take matters into their own hands. The end result can see the victim turning into an accused very quickly and violent crimes are typically viewed as more serious than property crimes. In other situations, we have seen the person who takes the matter into their own hands be quite seriously injured as well. What we need, is witnesses who are willing to share information fully on crimes with the police so that police can deal with it expediently in a legal fashion.”
The belongings
Police later recovered thousands of dollars worth of belongings from several different break ins, from the home, and returned them to their owners.
Links of Interest
- (RCMP) RCMP are investigating after an apparent episode of vigilante justice
- (Cortes Currents) articles about, or mentioning, theft
- (Cortes Currents) articles mentioning the Campbell River RCMP
- (Cortes Currents) articles mentioning the Quadra Island RCMP, which also serves Read and Cortes Islands
This program was funded by a grant from the Community Radio Fund of Canada and the Government of Canada’s Local Journalism Initiative.
Top photo credit: RCMP vehicles during a late night investigation – courtesy Campbell River RCMP