Break-in or vandalism? Motive behind damage at Kamloops mayor’s dealership unclear

Someone has smashed windows and a door at an auto dealership owned by the mayor of Kamloops.

Reid Hamer-Jackson said it happened in March, which is why commuters on Victoria Street West will now see plywood covering the spaces where glass was smashed.

Hamer-Jackson said it’s just another episode for Tru Market Auto where he has filed dozens of complaints with Kamloops RCMP. Though there are fewer now since he was elected, this time it appeared someone might have been trying to get inside.

“I couldn’t find a rock in there. The glass was splattered all across the building, like across to the other side,” he said. “But the holes weren’t big enough for anyone to get through.”

He said they couldn’t have unlocked the door by reaching through either since it needs a key both inside and out. He added that his working surveillance camera didn’t face the door, while the other has been spray painted.

Hamer-Jackson said police on patrol spotted the damage and notified him. Upon his own arrival, he said he found nothing had been stolen.

Whether it was a case of vandalism or someone trying to get inside isn’t clear.

The mayor did say there are frequently people loitering on the property, lighting fires, spray painting and breaking his wooden fence near the train tracks.

Though he hasn’t been selling vehicles since taking the job as mayor, he does use it for city business. Since a new basement office was built for him at city hall, he started using the dealership just down the road for meetings in protest, often meeting with “concerned citizens.”

If it was an attempted break-in, it would be the first more serious crime known on the property since his SUV was torched in 2022.

It went up in flames shortly after he was elected in October 2022, then again a year later. Kamloops Fire Rescue deemed it a fire risk in December 2023 and towed it off the property.

Asked whether the broken windows or the burnt SUV may have been politically motivated, Hamer-Jackson said it’s possible.

“With what I’ve seen, there’s always a chance,” he said.

He said he hasn’t “gotten any word” on progress in the arson investigations.

Kamloops RCMP wasn’t immediately available to comment on the smashed window and door at Tru Market Auto.