Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he threatened to beat up a shoplifter he spotted at a Home Depot in July. Ford, speaking at the Empire Club in Toronto, said he left his home before his police security detail arrived to go shopping for plants, hoping to spruce up his cottage ahead of a visit from Prime Minister Mark Carney, CP24 reports. He said he saw a man leaving the store with two backpacks. Security guards followed, saying the man had stolen something, but backed off, saying they'd been told not to intervene in that kind of situation.
Ford said he decided to step in himself. He tracked down the man and demanded to see what was in his bag. The premier said that when the man refused, "I said, buddy, I'm going to kick your a-- all over the parking lot, show me what's in your bag." Ford said the man eventually handed over items including a saw blade, which the store manager confirmed was stolen. "I went on to tell him, if I ever see him in the parking lot, he's gonna get a beating like he's never got before," Ford said, per the Toronto Star. "That's what you have to do." It's not clear whether the incident was reported to police.
John Fraser, a provincial lawmaker from the opposition Liberal Party, said the premier's actions were irresponsible, Global News reports. "If somebody shoplifts, and they've got a bag and they're out in the parking lot, you don't chase after them because you don't know what they may have," said Fraser, a former grocery store manager. "They could have a knife, it could be a dangerous situation, and generally whatever's in that bag is not worth you getting injured or possibly killed. It does happen." Ford shared the anecdote during a conversation about criminal justice reform, the National Post reports. He called for longer mandatory sentences for young offenders, slamming "bleeding heart judges" who say "we gotta give them a second chance."