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The Vancouver police apologized because the officers mistakenly detained an 81-year-old retired black judge and detained his handcuffs while walking on the seawall in the morning.
Selwyn Romilly said he was walking around Stanley Park on Friday when two police cars stopped nearby and about five officers approached him. He said that all five looked white and were much taller than his five feet and eight inches.
He told CBC News: “They said they complained that someone fits my description. Before I had nothing to say, they told me to put my hands behind my back, and they shackle me in handcuffs.”
“I don’t have a gun, I have nothing on my hands or people. Here, you-9:45 in the morning, near the Third Beach, there are many people there,-you have a black man… locked and handcuffed And people passing by. I feel most embarrassed.”
He said he told the officers that he was a retired judge and they released him from the handcuffs about a minute later.
Romilly was born in Trinidad and was the first black judge appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia. He is also the fourth black student at the University of British Columbia Law School. According to the university.
Speaking of his arrest, he said: “You would think that we have passed this stage in Canada.”
Sergeant, spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department. Steve Addison said in an email that the officer was responding to multiple 911 calls about a man attacking a stranger on a seawall near English Bay.
It is said that the suspect walked normally, but then he suddenly started kicking, punching and spitting at people.
Addison wrote: “Officials observed a person similar to the suspect’s description and briefly detained him for investigation. Given the violent nature of the incident, the person was handcuffed.”
However, Addison confirmed that the description of the suspect was “a dark-skinned man between 40 and 50 years old, wearing a red shirt.”
He described Romilly as submissive and said that when he was clearly not a suspect, the handcuffs were quickly removed.
Addison said the police placed the correct suspect in the same area during that time and sent the man to jail. The patrol captain then called Romilly to apologize and explain.
Romiley said that two senior officials have apologized to them and he does not intend to lodge a complaint.
But he still hopes that the police station will make some changes.
Romiley said: “They must be very vigilant when training young white police officers to deal with ethnic minorities.”
“I don’t want to say that this is because I was attacked when I was walking in Black, but you are a little surprised why you put these handcuffs on me so early.”
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