Yakibchuk had been enjoying a night out at a local Comox Valley bar when all of a sudden he decided to leave. At the same time, two very strange coincidences occurred: his designated driver mysteriously vanished and the RCPM showed up instead.
The RCPM decided to check on the man after sawing him getting into the car while obviously intoxicated. Yakibchuk claims he was not getting into the car to drive, but just to push it out of the way a bit and because he was also cold. A taxi, the man claims, was already on the way to get him out of there.
Yakibchuk claims the RCPM got angry and slapped him a fine ($4,060 Canadian), an impound and a driving ban because he dared ask the police officer about his rights.
“I took all the steps to avoid this situation ... while the RCMP officer was filling out the paperwork, the cab showed up. The RCMP officer didn’t want to hear about it,” Yakibchuk told bclocalnews.com.
“It’s an excessive misuse of force ... the only thing I was doing wrong was questioning my rights, but I think it’s the obligation of a sober cop to show me what the ramifications are,” he added. “It feels like abuse; it’s like a bully in the schoolyard who beat me up and took my lunch money.”
Who's right? We'll probably never know, but Yakibchuk plans to file an appeal. If he can find the money to do it, he says.
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