We’ve all been guilty of doing stupid things when we’re drunk, but this guy takes first, second, and third prize. Back in 2015, a drunk Devin Mitsuing got out of his truck shirtless and began shouting at a young grizzly bear. He assumed a “boxing stance” then charged the bear, according to an eyewitness.
British Columbia photographer Thomas Murray O’Neill was taking pictures of the bear in Banff National Park in British Columbia when the red truck with a Saskatchewan license plate pulled up. O’Neill watched Mitsuing yell and taunt the young grizzly for approximately five to 10 minutes before the man started running toward the bear, startling it to run back into the bush. Concerned, O’Neill called the RCMP.
“We were on the other side of the highway when a truck pulled up and two gentlemen got out, started yelling at the bear and throwing rocks … then he took off his shirt and got in a boxing stance,” O’Neill explained.
After two previous missed court dates, the case finally came to trial in the Canmore Provincial Courthouse Friday 13th September, with Judge George Gaschler finding the Saskatchewan man guilty and imposing a $4,000 fine.
“It is abundantly clear this is a disturbance of a grizzly bear and I find [Mr. Mitsuing] guilty,” Judge Gaschler said.
Federal Crown prosecutor Jeremy Newton said Mitsuing was incredibly lucky he was not maimed or killed in the incident and noted that grizzly bears are a protected species. Mitsuing has until Oct. 16 to pay the fine, or face 33 days in jail.
“I think the judge said it best, when an individual creates this kind of dangerous situation with a bear, when they charge at him, when they throw rocks at him when they cause him to run into the bush, you are going to create an aggressive animal that obviously has the ability to do a lot of harm to humans and the public in general,” Newton said after the trial.
