Victoria cabbie drops belligerent, mask-less passenger at police headquarters

Victoria police say they doled out close to $700 in fines to a man who refused to wear a mask in a taxi and became belligerent with the driver.

Police say the cabbie phoned 911 around 1 a.m. on Friday to complain his passenger wouldn’t put on a mask.

The man also touched the driver’s face, according to police.

The cabbie drove the passenger to the Victoria police headquarters on Caledonia Avenue, where he met with waiting officers.

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Police issued three $230 fines to the passenger for failure to wear a mask, abusive or belligerent behaviour and failure to comply with the direction of a police officer.

When the man refused to get out of the cab officers had to physically remove him, and took him into custody, police said.

Victoria police say they were called to more than a dozen gatherings on New Year’s Eve in contravention of a COVID-19 public health order banning social gatherings.