SASKATOON -- FreshCo says it has ended its relationship with a third-party security vendor after a video showing an interaction between the company's guard and woman being apprehended was widely shared on social media.
The nine-minute-long video, uploaded on Wednesday, appears to show the guard attempting to apprehend a woman.
The woman can be heard Iyealling "please help me" and "what are you arresting me for."
At points in the video, the woman can be seen trying to strike at the security guard and he also yells for help and asks someone to call the police.
As of 2:30 pm on Thursday, the video had over 760 comments and over a thousand shares
“The behaviour shown on April 14th outside our FreshCo 33rd avenue store is not tolerated or representative of our values,” Freshco told CTV News in a statement.
Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) says officers were called to the store around 4 p.m. for reports of shoplifting.
SPS said a 30-year-old woman refused medical treatment, was taken into custody and charged with theft under $5000.
The security guard suffered minor injuries, according to police.
The incident has grabbed the attention of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN).
“This sad excuse of a man clearly assaulted her and needs to be held accountable for his disgusting actions. We expect his immediate termination and charges to be laid against him by police today,” FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron told CTV News.
A Saskatoon criminal defence lawyer says the main question is if the security guard used reasonable force.
“Reasonable force is going to vary in the circumstances. There is always going to be a question of what is reasonable and when quite frankly is force even justified," said Meagan Ward.
SPS says the investigation is ongoing.
