A 25-year-old Coquitlam woman is facing assault charges after allegedly coughing on a grocery store clerk who would not sell her extra tissues.

The woman was arrested at her home shortly after police spoke to witnesses and reviewed surveillance footage of the incident, which occurred at a store in Westwood Plateau Village on Monday afternoon.

article continues below

“This is a great example of why we need to keep perspective, take a breath, and treat essential workers like grocery store clerks with the respect they deserve,” said Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Michael McLaughlin. “Whether you deliberately cough on police, hospital workers, or grocery clerks, abuse or assault against essential workers will not be tolerated.”

Police said the suspect allegedly became irate when the employee would not allow her to purchase more than the store’s maximum amount of tissue paper.

The woman who was arrested has no significant history with police. She has been released and is expected to appear in court on July 13.

This is not the first time the Coquitlam RCMP has charged someone for coughing on an essential services worker.

Last week, a 24-year-old male suspected of a break-and-enter was given an additional assault charge for coughing on the three arresting officers. He is scheduled to appear in court today.