The three bears were euthanized 'as they were heavily habituated and food conditioned,' BCCOS said

Phones belonging to people who were charged for getting between the bears and officers were seized

Three people have been arrested in Coquitlam after conservation officers say they obstructed their search for bears

COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) — The people arrested earlier this week by conservation officers who were trying to put down a bear family in Coquitlam are adamant they didn’t do anything wrong.

“I was just speaking my mind, are you not allowed to say anything now? And allow them to just shoot bears whenever they want?” says Susan Flint, one of the three people who were arrested and had their cell phones taken away during the dramatic confrontation Tuesday in the Chineside neighbourhood.

Conservation officers say they arrested the three because they were getting in the way of efforts to secure the mom bear and her two cubs, which were eventually put down because they were heavily habituated and food conditioned.

“The BCCOS, with the assistance of the RCMP, arrested 3 Coquitlam residents (Tuesday) for obstructing CO’s while they were searching for a family of bears in Coquitlam,” the B.C. Conservation Officer Service said in an email. “The three residents were actively interfering with officers and would not comply with the direction of officers. As a result, the three individuals were arrested as it is an offence to obstruct CO’s under the Wildlife Act.”

In Coquitlam after reports a bear and 2 cubs were euthanized by Conservation Officers yesterday and 3 people were taken in by the RCMP for trying to stop it. More to come. pic.twitter.com/Q885NNlT9K — Mike Lloyd (@llikemoyd) July 31, 2019

But the trio is unapologetic for trying to save the bears, saying they don’t understand why they were arrested.

“Never once did we come in contact. I never even came so much as 15 feet within them,” says Tony Faccin, who was also arrested.

He admits he was following conservation officers and filming as Flint yelled at them to not shoot the bears. Video footage of the dispute may be the reason their phones were seized, with conservation officers saying the devices were taken as part of their investigation and will be returned once completed.

“I’m not afraid to show that video, I’m not. They may be but I’m not.” says Faccin. “If she was being aggressive, they could kill the mother. Little babies? You can’t just relocate them? Like, c’mon, there’s got to be a better way to deal with it.”

Flint also thinks the situation could have been better handled and wants answers from conservation officers.

“I want something done about this. I want the bears to stop being killed,” she says.

Sam, who lives in the Chineside neighbourhood, said he saw a woman in handcuffs when the confrontation took place.

He understands why some people wouldn’t want to see the bear and its two cubs shot, even if they were wandering the area, he said.

“They could have relocated them, they could have did so many more humane things than put the bears down, right?” he told NEWS 1130. “But at the end of the day [conservation officers] have to protect the public. I mean, there’s kids around here. A mother bear, if you get near the cubs, can do some pretty serious damage.”

Regardless, he understands frustration some of the neighbours feel.

“There’s a lot of people walking around, really upset that these guys took the bears,” Sam said. “They never bothered anybody. I mean, some people, I guess, get intimidated because it’s a bear, they get freaked out and call the authorities.”

On Facebook, support appears split between the three people arrested and the conservation officers.

“Ridiculous to put down 2 cubs, too many bears killed this year by our ‘destruction officers,'” writes one person.

“All they did was voiced their opinion, spoke up, how is that obstructing co’s under the wildlife act?” wrote another person, behind the trio.

But others are jumping to the defence of conservation officers.

“A lot people blaming the BCCO service here, they have a tough job, they are spread very thin in this province,” wrote one person.

The three bears put down were the ones that forced the partial closure of Mundy Park earlier this month. At the time, conservation officers hoped to capture the bears humanely and safely relocate them.

– With files from Travis Prasad, Dean Recksiedler, Jonathan Szekeres