“We received a call from the store’s loss prevention officers who reported a male described as hallucinating as well as destroying property,” P.A. Police Sgt. Travis Willie told paNOW. “On arrival, officers found the subject to be nude and he ran from them.”

Willie said officers did manage to arrest the man in the store but was unable to say if he was taken out to the police vehicle with some sort of covering to conceal his dignity and offer protection from the cold. Willie called the incident a “tough situation.”

“We have their dignity and privacy to bear in mind and we want to respect that, but given the time of day, we had children and families [there],” he said.

Willie added they are trained to deal with a situation like this but every incident is different.

“We need to try to talk to the subject, ask what the problem is and ask how can we help, and try to make a connection,” he said. “But there are times when we can talk and talk and talk, and if public safety is at risk then we have to take that into account.”

Calvin Jobb made his first appearance in court Monday morning. Jobb is charged with mischief, assaulting a police officer, obstructing a police officer, committing an indecent act and breach of a court order.

He told the court he’d been drinking and asked to have his case moved north to Deschambault Lake so he can continue working. The case was set over to Tuesday morning.

As for the various pictures of the incident that were posted online over the weekend, Willie said it was important for the public to bear things in mind before doing so.

“Whatever is going to make someone act like that, we’ll help figure out,” Willie said. “There’s nothing saying the public can’t video this, but just imagine if that was your family member and how it would make you feel if that was being posted.”

With files from Charlene Tebbutt.

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow