Two off-duty Winnipeg police officers are being credited with saving a lot of people from a nasty experience.
On Saturday night staff at Muddy Waters restaurant was having trouble with a couple of angry patrons who didn't want to pay their bill.
"He said he made a mistake. He said he was supposed to spend this money on diapers for my baby, and I said well I guess you should've thought of that," explains Jake Stead from Muddy Waters.
To get him and his friend out of the building, staff finally gave the man his money back hoping that was the end of it.
The men came back and when they did two off-duty officers eating dinner at the restaurant spotted them returning carrying a can of bear spray.
They never made it into the restaurant.
"They chased these guys down and so I went outside to see if the officer was o-k, because I heard he had gotten some bear mace, and sure enough he had gotten some in his eyes, he was tearing up and holding his face a little bit. All the while restraining this guy and doing his job which was fantastic," says Stead.
Police commend the action of the two officers, and what they were able to prevent.
Officers have responded to more than 700 pepper spray calls in the past couple of years.
Regulations were introduced last month that require customers to provide personal information when buying it.
Police are hoping that will curb the use of bear or pepper spray as a weapon.
Two men were arrested, but even though they got their money back no word on whether the officers were offered the same deal.
18-year-old Lance Funk has been charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, and two counts of assaulting a police officer.
Another 20-year-old man will be charged at a later.
With a report from CTV's Kelly Dehn
