NEEDLED BY CITY VAN

A Centretown restaurant owner just wanted the city's needle exchange
van to stay away from his business.

Instead, he claims, he was assaulted by public health staff when he
tried to get them to move on.

Mystikos Greek Kitchen & Wine Bar owner Thomas Stamoulis, 27, has been
running the Kent St. casual fine dining restaurant for four years. In
that time he claims to have had no less than 10 run-ins with Ottawa
Public Health's needle exchange van.

"We're trying to run a restaurant here," said Stamoulis. "To have
these gentlemen parked in my parking lot - which they have done
several times - to get these drug users into their van, it doesn't
look good. I have windows in my restaurant, customers look out from my
restaurant and see these drug users going into a van from the city and
getting needles."

He said after they get a needle, sometimes the users will shoot-up in
the alley behind his restaurant - where he claims to have found
several needles over the years.

"I once found one in my grease bin," he said. "It's not good for
business."

Three weeks ago the van was back, according to Stamoulis - this time,
a half block north of his restaurant on the other side of the street.

Stamoulis captured what happened next on video with his iPhone.

"I followed them with my iPhone video camera," said Stamoulis, who
provided the footage to the Sun.

The video shows Stamoulis' approach and the sound of him firmly asking
the staff to move the van - telling them they can't park there. After
he reads the number on the side of the van and its licence plate, he
confronts one of the staff face-to-face.

The man appears to slap the iPhone out of Stamoulis' hand - something
the restaurateur claims is assault.

Ottawa Police disagree.

According to cops, investigators found no criminal act had taken place
and they consider the matter closed.

That's news to Stamoulis, who was under the impression he'd be hearing
from detectives.

"I'm disgusted," he said.

Ottawa associate medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches said there
are only three places the needle exchange van won't service clients -
within 100 metres of schools, parks or daycares.

Parking near businesses and restaurants is OK. That said, Etches
denies that her staff have ever parked on Stamoulis' property.

In addition, Etches said the van actually collects more needles than
it distributes.

Stamoulis said he confronted van's two-person team a little over a
month ago after they parked outside his front door at the corner of
Kent and Cooper streets. Not long after, he got a visit from two
police officers who said the van would stay two blocks away from now
on.