A man has filed a lawsuit against Canadian police after he allegedly found a female police officer in his bedroom when he walked out of the shower naked.
The alleged incident took place at Kirk Forbes’ home in Coquitlam, British Columbia, back in June 2022, Global News BC reports.
Mr Forbes said that he had just finished taking a shower when he walked into his bedroom to find the woman. Mr Forbes said that she did not immediately identify herself and only revealed that she was with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) when he asked what she was doing inside his home.
The officer reportedly told him that she was trying to serve him a traffic ticket.
“I felt violated in my own home,’’ Mr Forbes told CBC. “That’s my safe place. It should always be that way.’’
The ordeal left Mr Forbes, who was seen naked by the officer, feeling shocked and embarrassed, he said. Late, after he hurried to get dressed, he went to his living room and found a male officer searching the residence.
The officers reportedly told Mr Forbes that they had knocked on his door and found it was open. One of the officers then reportedly joked about investigating a potential break-in before they handed the traffic summons to Mr Forbes and left the home.
RCMP said in a statement that the officers entered Mr Forbes’ home after deeming the residence “apparently insecure.” Mr Forbes claims he was not aware of the traffic violation, which occurred in 2021 in a township two hours away from his home.
Mr Forbes said he was never pulled over for that violation.
“I was confused and, at that point, pretty much in a state of shock,’’ Mr Forbes said. “This is all [because of] a six-month-old alleged traffic violation that I find myself in the situation, and I do find it just unreasonable, unprofessional and unwarranted.’’
The agency said that the officers thought they had dealt with Mr Forbes’s concerns informally before he filed the complaint. RCMP will now conduct a review of the documentation available in the case, including radio transmissions and other related material.
“As with any civil claim against the RCMP, the Department of Justice will review the claim and prepare a statement of defence for the RCMP which will then be issued through the courts. It would be inappropriate for us to provide any further comment at this time,” the statement read.
Mr Forbes told CBC that he now feels anxious in his own home. He also claimed that several attempts to obtain answers from RCMP were unsuccessful and that in one instance he was referred to as “the shower guy” by a receptionist.
“It was pretty disturbing to find out that for some reason this incident has become the talk of the police station, and that was not a pleasant feeling for sure,’’ Mr Forbes told CBC.
