Ottawa

The pain emanating from his chest was getting to be too much. His left side was numb, his chin was tingling.

Knowing his symptoms resembled a heart attack, Veragoda Perera stepped on the gas and tried to get somewhere, fast, to call 911.

The flashing red and blue lights he soon saw in his rearview mirror, at first, brought the 65-year-old a feeling of relief.

That is until he realized he was about to get a speeding ticket for doing 105 km/h in a 70 km/h zone.

"I thought, 'This was great, this is what I needed,'" the Ottawa man said, "but he did not care to call an ambulance for me right away."

Perera had just left Riverside Hospital after one of his routine dialysis treatments on the afternoon of Oct. 15 when the pain started.

He said his wife, sitting in the passenger seat, suggested getting to the nearby Stinson & Son gas station on Bank St. as quickly as possible to call for help as their cellphone battery was dead.

When the police officer, identified on the ticket as Const. Frank Perron, approached the car and Perera told him what was happening, Perera claims he was treated with little respect.

"He said you are bulls---ing," Perera said. "I was afraid, I didn't know what to do. After he gave me the ticket, I asked for an ambulance and he shouted at me."

Perera said the officer then held up handcuffs and said he would arrest him if there was no medical emergency. Perera said his wife, Nalani, was crying beside him.

As it turns out, Perron is writing a book about all the excuses he's received after pulling people over for speeding.

The 12-year veteran of the force told the Sun in 2012 that he's pulled over people who have said they were driving to the beat of the music or in a hurry to get fish, just to name a few of the hundreds of explanations.

Ottawa Police spokesman Const. Mark Soucy said Monday "You'd be surprised what people say to get out of tickets."

He said that if a person is having a medical issue and informs an officer, an officer should call paramedics right away.

Perera said he was left waiting for nearly 10 minutes while the officer processed the ticket.

Meanwhile, Perera said, he sprayed nitroglycerin under his tongue twice in an effort to get blood pumping back into his heart regularly.

He said his mind was racing. He's had heart problems for almost 15 years, has had a heart attack before and underwent open-heart surgery.

It was only after the officer returned that he agreed to call an ambulance, Perera said.

Paramedics treated him on site with an oxygen mask and more nitro tablets before he was taken to a nearby hospital where a doctor treated him for angina.

Perera has lived in Canada for 26 years after immigrating to Canada from Sri Lanka where he himself was a police officer.

"I was humiliated," he said of his encounter with the Ottawa cop.

The Ottawa police said Perron and Chief Charles Bordeleau would not be commenting on the complaint.

Perera is challenging the $265 ticket.

Twitter: @mattdaymedia

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IF YOU HAVE HEART ATTACK SYMPTOMS WHILE DRIVING

Immediately pull over, even if you're close to a hospital

Call 911

Put your hazard lights on

Take any medication you're prescribed, like nitroglycerin or Aspirin

Make yourself comfortable

If your cellphone is dead, pull over, put your hazard lights on, open the door and flag someone down.

-- From Ottawa Paramedic Services

EXCUSES SOME SPEEDERS MAKE

"My car is built for that kind of speed." Caught doing 162 km per hour on the 174 in a convertible Mustang with the top down -- two kids on board. Turned out to be Ottawa's first stunt driving charge.

"My car was at the shop today and I was a bit emotional."

"My cellphone was stuck under the gas pedal and my grandmother swallowed her tongue today and the RCMP had to go and save her."

"I'm allergic to EMF (electromagnetic frequency), it makes me dizzy."

"Sorry officer I was rushing home to put my baby to bed for an afternoon sleep." Caught doing 134 km per hour on the 174.

-- Excuses Const. Frank Perron told the Sun in 2012 he's heard from speeders