British ColumbiaMayor Reid Hamer-Jackson of Kamloops, B.C., says the news director of local online outlet Castanet “hit” him in the back. The news director says it was a pat on the shoulder.Police say ‘unwanted contact’ did not amount to assaultCBC News · Posted: Aug 13, 2025 8:18 PM EDT | Last Updated: August 14Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson filed a police report claiming a local journalist assaulted him, but police say the unwanted contact doesn’t constitute assault. (Jenifer Norwell/CBC)Kamloops RCMP have dismissed a complaint from the city’s mayor, alleging he was assaulted by a journalist at a local pub.Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson had claimed that Tim Petruk, the news director for Castanet Kamloops, had assaulted him at a local pub on June 28.The mayor told CBC News that Petruk hit him in the back at Bailey’s Pub after the Kamloops NorthPaws baseball game.Petruk told CBC News at the time that he had just patted the mayor on the shoulder while saying goodbye.Tim Petruk, news director at Castanet Kamloops, says he patted Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson on the shoulder. (Castanet)Now, police have said that after speaking with witnesses and reviewing video footage, they won’t be forwarding charges to prosecutors in the case.They said that while “unwanted contact” had happened, the interaction didn’t constitute an assault.”The public is reminded to respect personal boundaries and not make unwanted contact,” read a statement from Supt. Jeffery Pelley.In an email, Petruk told CBC News he was “not surprised” at the RCMP’s findings.”It was a waste of time for the police and for me and I’m happy to put it behind me,” he wrote.”The mayor’s blatant attempts to use the police and the courts as weapons are not only petty, they are also taking money out of the pockets of Kamloops taxpayers.”CBC News has reached out to Hamer-Jackson for a response.Journalist was critical of mayorHamer-Jackson had earlier told CBC News that his interaction with Petruk couldn’t be seen as a friendly pat.”He walked up behind me, he whacked me in the back … it would take a person of less than average intelligence to think in any way that it was a nice gesture,” Hamer-Jackson said immediately after the interaction.The mayor had said Petruk has repeatedly published “biased” articles and op-eds against him.He specifically criticized an opinion piece Petruk wrote in 2024, in which he described Hamer-Jackson’s treatment of another Kamloops journalist as “bullying for all to see.”Immediately after the police complaint was first lodged, Petruk told CBC News the mayor was trying to use the police to “harass” a journalist after critical coverage.”This will no doubt prove to be another baseless allegation made by the mayor and another waste of taxpayer resources getting the police to investigate his petty grievances,” Petruk said at the time.WATCH | Hamer-Jackson refuses to step down after council request: Kamloops mayor refuses to heed council’s call to resignCity council in Kamloops, B.C., has formally called on Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson to resign after a scathing report by a provincially appointed municipal adviser was made public on Tuesday. But, CBC’s Marcella Bernarndo explains, the mayor is refusing to resign.Hamer-Jackson has been no stranger to controversy since his 2022 election. He has filed two defamation suits against a fellow city councillor and has had his pay cut for leaking confidential documents.In 2024, eight councillors formally asked him to resign as mayor. Hamer-Jackson declined to do so.With files from Lauren Vanderdeen and Marcella Bernardo
Kamloops RCMP dismiss mayor’s complaint that journalist assaulted him
