People are angry with police for punishing a man who tried to help a homeless man. Police in Canada, set up a trap to catch people breaking the law.
Officers admitted that they sometimes do so by setting up an undercover
operation, in which an officer pretends to be a homeless man.
Although panhandling is legal, 25-year-old Dane Rusk received a ticket
for removing his seatbelt for the few seconds that it took him to take
the money out of his pocket.
Rusk said that he left a Safeway grocery store in Regina, Saskatchewan,
when he spotted the man with a sign. He felt bad for the man and decided
to help.
Rusk removed his seatbelt, grabbed $3 and he dropped it on the curb for
the โhomeless man.โ He was then pulled over by police while wearing his
seatbelt.
The officer told him that the โhomeless manโ was an undercover agent who witnessed him breaking the law.
Rusk received a traffic violation ticket of $175. The officer never returned the $3 he received while posing as a homeless man.
A frustrated Rusk said that he is out $178 over his good deed. A real
homeless man said that he hopes this incident will not discourage others
from helping the less fortunate.
The officer also revealed that although the officer seemed to be
homeless, he did not solicit money, as his sign read: โNot broke, not
hungry, have a great day.โ
