Guelph grocery store employee spit on by ‘impatient’ customer: police

Guelph police say a grocery store employee was allegedly spat on by a customer on Wednesday evening.

It happened at the Zehrs near the intersection of Eramosa Road and Stevenson Street at around 6:45 p.m, according to police.

Const. Kyle Grant said a customer was waiting in the checkout line and became impatient with the wait and ultimately spit on a woman.

“Spitting on someone is considered an assault,” he said.

Guelph police have released photos of two people seen leaving the store, but Grant didn’t specify which person is alleged to have spit on the clerk.

“We’re trying to figure out exactly what happened and bring this incident to a resolution,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the lead investigator at 519-824-1212 ext. 7453. Anonymous tips can be left with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or through its website.

Grant said he didn’t believe any laws were broken under the province’s emergency orders in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

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He acknowledged that the measures implemented by grocery stores to stop the spread of COVID-19 have slowed things down a bit.

“It’s important that everyone has that patience and understands that this isn’t being done to inconvenience people, this is being done to keep everyone healthy, to keep everyone safe,” he said.

In a statement, parent company Loblaws Companies Limited said the incident is truly disturbing and they will not tolerate any sort of abuse against our colleagues.