Simran Pandher in front of the compound he chased three suspected thieves out of early Monday morning.

(STEVE ARSTAD / iNFOnews.ca)

PENTICTON - An early morning incident on Skaha Lake Road has left a local merchant frustrated after he called police, but ended up being the one arrested.

Simran Pandher, manager of the Skaha Liquor Store on Skaha Lake Road, was in his apartment, located on the same property as the liquor store, when he was alerted by motion sensor alarms going off in a fenced and chained off compound around 2 a.m. yesterday morning, July 9.

“I saw three people walking away from the compound,” Pandher says, adding someone had to be in the cordoned off area in order for the sensors to activate.

After noticing three people carrying back packs and a duffel, Pandher says he grabbed an air soft pistol he had in his apartment.

He called 911 and notified the police he was tracking the three as they made their way down the street towards the Best Western Inn.

When they realized they were being followed, two tried to hide in the bushes around the motel while the woman hailed a cab.

Police arrived shortly after. The cab driver told police Pandher was carrying a gun, which Pandher then explained was an air soft pistol.

“They told me, ‘you can’t be carrying that,’ and, according to Pandher, threw him to the ground and handcuffed him as he tried to explain to the police the three suspects were getting away.

Pandher says he cooperated with police, who detained him for an hour before releasing him without charges. He says the matter is now in the hands of his lawyer.

In a press release issued by the Penticton RCMP regarding the incident, Const. James Grandy says while police were responding to Pandher’s complaint, a witness called police to report a man waving a handgun in the area.

Grandy says officers seized the airsoft handgun, which caused Pandher to become ‘very frustrated.’

“It was explained at the scene… that yielding an imitation firearm is not appropriate, and in this case took police away from investigating the original complaint,” Grandy says.

Police responding to high risk situations, such as a break and enter in progress, often have to make split-second decisions. When confronted with someone who appears to have a firearm on the street, police are justified in raising their response. Airsoft pistols, such as the one seized in this matter, are made to look like real firearms. Using an imitation firearm in the commission of an offence carries the same penalty as using a real firearm, Grandy also noted.

"The Penticton RCMP encourages people to report crimes in progress, but also to not put oneself in harm's way allow officers to investigate", said Const. Grandy.

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