Word to the wise: Stop harassing female reporters by yelling “Fuck her right in the pussy” at the camera while they’re working. It’s sexual harassment, it’s not funny, and as one man visiting Canada found out, it can get you arrested.
On Friday, Britt Dixon, a reporter for Ontario news station CHCH, was filming an interview with a police officer in front of the Hamilton, Ontario, Police Central Station when a truck drove by her and yelled, “Fuck her right in the pussy” at her.
After the offender yelled from the truck, Dixon commented, “Wow, in front of a police officer.” The cameraman replied, “That wasn’t it,” to which Dixon insisted that it was what the passenger said.
The officer immediately walked toward the truck as it pulled over and confronted the passengers, eventually telling the offender to step out of the truck and follow him into the police station.
As the two walked past Dixon, she asked him why he would say that. The man replied that people in the United States do it, to which the officer said, “It’s not funny.” Dixon then told him that his comment is considered sexual harassment.
“I can’t believe it either,” Dixon continued to say off camera as the other men in the truck followed the arresting officer and the passenger into the police station.
Dixon later tweeted about the incident, writing that police had arrested and charged the man with causing a disturbance. While Dixon did not want to press charges, police went forth with charging because they had witnessed the incident, according to the Hamilton Spectator. Police did not identify the man, but CHCH reported he’s a 24-year-old from Maryland, and he was scheduled to appear in court on Saturday morning.
I was doing an interview outside Hamilton Police HQ today with a uniformed police officer when a man yelled #FHRITP police heard him & arrested him for causing a disturbance. You can watch for yourself at 6pm
— Britt Dixon (@BrittDixonmedia) November 24, 2017
Here is the video from today. Police arrested and charged this man with causing a disturbance after police witnessed this during an interview. CHCH reporter harassed again, police lay charges – https://t.co/GkQ8oHXy6L
— Britt Dixon (@BrittDixonmedia) November 25, 2017
Sadly but unsurprisingly, this isn’t even the first time this week that Dixon had been harassed while doing her job. Three days prior, Dixon had been interviewing college students when a male student yelled the same phrase at her while in the middle of an interview. Then later that day, a second student yelled the phrase at Dixon one minute before she went live on air.
With all of the sexual harassment complaints and the close attention being paid right now I am sad to say I was interviewing students at a college today & a male student yelled FHRITP behind me in the middle of an interview
— Britt Dixon (@BrittDixonmedia) November 21, 2017
Wow twice in one day #FHRITP a minute before my live hit… speechless
— Britt Dixon (@BrittDixonmedia) November 21, 2017
This was a difficult but important story to tell today. Thank you to everyone for your messages of support… to those who’ve criticized me thank you for reinforcing my decision to tell it – https://t.co/dRGsGihlBm
— Britt Dixon (@BrittDixonmedia) November 24, 2017
Mohawk College president Ron McKerlie issued a statement denouncing the actions of those two students the following day, and wrote that the security team was investigating both incidents.
“If you somehow believe it is acceptable or humorous to demean and sexually harass women then you are not welcome at Mohawk,” McKerlie tweeted.
If you somehow believe it is acceptable or humorous to demean and sexually harass women then you are not welcome at @mohawkcollege #HamOnt. pic.twitter.com/iDzDtpkti6
— Ron McKerlie (@ronmckerlie) November 22, 2017
Dixon told the Hamilton Spectator she wanted people to know that making these comments to people doing their jobs isn’t funny, and it’s wrong and unacceptable.
“It’s unnerving and it’s offensive and it’s mortifying,” Dixon said. “This is my workplace. I don’t work in an office. My workplace is wherever I go … and someone is harassing me at my workplace.”
Watch Dixon and the officer confront her harasser in the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPjbSwDoqGg