London police are urging residents not to take matters into their own hands after a video of a downtown business owner chasing away two alleged drug users went viral.
The one-minute video posted to Facebook last Thursday shows two men sitting near a variety store on Richmond St., south of Dundas St. when a bat-wielding man yells at them to "get out of here." The man pounds the pavement with the bat until the two men get up and leave the area. The man with the bat then heads inside a nearby clothing store.
Police say while they understand the frustration of business owners they don't condone this type of behaviour.
"If you see someone committing a criminal act, give us a call," says Constable Sandasha Bough. "Our foot patrol officers are in that area every day conducting enforcement. If business owners have a specific concern they can contact them, our headquarters or 9-1-1."
The video captioned "These guys gotta learn they can't be shootin up in front of little kids on my block" has been viewed more than 44, 000 times and shared roughly 355 times.
It's alleged the two men who were chased away were using intravenous drugs at the time.
Constable Bough says police have not received any formal complaints in relation to the video.