Photo: Castanet Staff

The City of Penticton pressured the RCMP to arrest panhandler Paul Braun during the protracted legal battle last year to remove him from his spot on Main Street. 

The revelation was made public during Tuesday’s council meeting, when Mayor John Vassilaki asked detachment commander Supt. Ted De Jager why RCMP “did not cooperate” with municipal prosecutors on the case.

“We had to go the long route, which took nine months,” Vassilaki said, referring to the court proceedings the city opened, which eventually ended with a guilty plea by Braun and court-order banning him from the 200 block of Main Street. Since then, Braun has failed to complete the community service attached to the court-order, meaning he has another court date scheduled for September.

The city spent $26,000 on the prosecution, something that could have been avoided had RCMP officers simply arrested Braun for repeatedly violating the bylaw, Vassilaki continued.

That’s a non-starter, replied Supt. De Jager.

“The notion of using the Criminal Code and the powers of arrest… to address an issue, a social issue, or an issue of poverty will never fly with the Supreme Court and puts my members in the position where they are breaching the law,” he said.

Given bylaw offences are regulatory in nature, De Jager said the “long form” route involving obtaining a court order is the correct way to a resolution. 

During question period, Vassilaki said the city’s municipal prosecutor believe a person can be arrested for a bylaw offense. 

“Our prosecutors differ with what the RCMP believes in about criminal law,” Vassilaki said. “There are two different opinions as to what the law says.”

De Jager acknowledged some civic prosecutors may disagree with him on the interpretation of the law, but said provincial and federal Crown counsels and the Supreme Court of Canada is on his side of the debate. 

“The powers of arrest that a police officer has are contained in the Criminal Code, and using the Criminal Code to enforce bylaw action — we simply don’t have the legal authority to do that.”

Vassilaki said the issue is not confined to the Paul Braun case, adding there “are many other” bylaw cases where they could use more RCMP support.