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The Regina Police Service is investigating an alleged assault after an incident at the Canadian Tire in east Regina on Wednesday afternoon.

Kamao Cappo laid the complaint with police after he and a friend went into the store to buy a chainsaw. They left without it after Cappo says a store employee accused him of stealing, assaulted him and forced them to leave the store.

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Cappo believes he was accused because he is Indigenous.

In an emailed statement, a Canadian Tire spokesperson wrote: “We sincerely apologize for the experience that occurred in our store and we are actively reviewing all of the facts surrounding this matter. We are communicating with Mr. Cappo directly, and we hope to resolve this matter as quickly as possible.”

As of mid-afternoon Thursday, Cappo had not spoken with a Canadian Tire representative.

According to Cappo, the altercation began shortly after he went to a checkout to pay for the chainsaw. He wanted to ensure it had the right fuel-mix ratio so he opened the black case holding the chainsaw looking for information.

“We said to the clerk, ‘Can we just leave it here and go check and if it’s different we’ll buy another one,’ ” Cappo said.

The clerk told Cappo to take the chainsaw to customer service.

Cappo had a can of oil and a chain in his hands that he put inside the open case in front of employees. He put the chainsaw case and contents in a shopping cart and wheeled it to customer service and went looking for another chainsaw.

“We were still trying to find a fuel ratio and then a lady approached us and started helping us to find the measurements and the things that we would need to go along with the chainsaw,” Cappo said. “Then the manager, I guess, asked if my friend, who was with me, put a can of oil in that case. I said, ‘I did that.’ And he said, ‘I want you to leave my store because you’re trying to steal.’ ”

Cappo denied the allegation.

“We left it at customer service — customer service had custody of it,” Cappo said. “When he said we were trying to steal, that was absurd.”

Cappo refused the employee’s demands to leave the store and a scuffle ensued, which he recorded on his phone.