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Off-duty Nanaimo Mountie takes down would-be ice cream thief

Suspect attempted to steal Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen location on Sunday

Security cameras caught the action when an off-duty Nanaimo RCMP officer didn’t think it was too cool for a man to try and get away without paying for his Dairy Queen Dilly Bars.

Sgt. Jon Stuart of the Nanaimo RCMP was at the Country Club DQ location Sunday with his family when a man walked in, took some Dilly Bars from a cooler, put them in his backpack and started to leave.

As the man was walking out, Stuart asked if he was going to pay for the Dilly Bars.

“The guy, goes, oh yeah and then the guy turns and starts a beeline out the door,” said Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman. “Jon jumps into cop mode and he follows him out the door, does a controlled takedown and he restrains him.”

Stuart’s 14-year-old daughter, meanwhile, called 911 and backup arrived to take the Dilly Bar bandit into custody.

O’Brien said Stuart identified himself as a police officer and gave the man the opportunity to pay for the merchandise before arresting him.

Off-duty police officers are not expected to go “hands-on” if they witness a crime, but they are expected to take some action.

“In this particular case Jon went into operational mode and he used restraining and he successfully resolved the situation,” O’Brien said.

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Chris Bush

About the Author: Chris Bush

As a photographer/reporter with the Nanaimo News Bulletin since 1998.
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