Cops Apologize for Mistakenly Detaining, Handcuffing First Black Judge on B.C. Supreme Court

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Newsweek

Christina Zhao 9 hrs ago

Canada's Vancouver Police Department has apologized for mistakenly arresting the first Black person to be named to the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Selwyn Romilly, 81, told CBC News that five police officers approached him while he was on a morning walk at around 9:45 a.m. local time Friday. "They said that they got a complaint about someone fitting my description, and before I could say anything, they told me to put my hands behind my back and they shackled me with handcuffs," he said.

Romilly insisted that he did not have a gun in his hand or on his person. "Here you have—at 9:45 a.m., near to Third Beach where you have lots of people—you have a black guy ... shackled in handcuffs and people passing by. I found that most embarrassing," he said.

Officers informed the retired judge that he matched the description of a 40-50 year old Black suspect and handcuffed him for "officer safety." The cops removed the handcuffs after Romilly told them he was a retired Supreme Court judge.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/cops-apologize-for-mistakenly-detaining-handcuffing-first-black-judge-on-bc-supreme-court/ar-BB1gLYNx?li=BBnbfcL

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Retired B.C. Supreme Court Judge Selwyn Romilly

[Hulk]

1. But...but he's black.

So it doesn't matter who he is😞

[TheBlackAdder]

19. If there's a report, the police should have received and logged it. Pony up Five-O.

[multigraincracker]

2. 81 year old that looked 40?

Hope they made sure there was a crime reported and not just a report of a suspect. When ever they stop someone they need a follow up to see if there was a report and what that report actually was.

[SunSeeker]

4. Of course he doesn't look 40. And why are officers so afraid of an octogenarian that they cuff him?

They couldn't just frisk him quickly to make sure he has no weapons? Do they think an 81 year old is going to beat them up? Did he show ANY aggression or pose ANY threat?

All they saw was his black skin. That's all they needed to humiliate the man, instead of just talking to him and asking for ID.

[TheBlackAdder]

20. I hope when I'm 80 someone says, "Damn, we confused you with that 38 year old over there!" 🤣

.

Something that will NEVER happen.

.

[onetexan]

3. The same damn reason these racist pigs use:

"Fits the description" - this is their license to harrass, intimidate & kill people of color.

[raccoon]

8. Yep, the cops frequently say that. Ask Ahmed Armbery. Nt

[LittleGirl]

5. Walking while black is not an American only thing it seems. eom

[sarge43]

6. Walking while Black n/t

[oasis]

7. I call total bullshit on the cop's lame explanation for stopping the judge.

[FakeNoose]

9. Five armed police officers - 5 against 1?

And yet they had to cuff him for "officer safety"?

Oh my Lord, where did they get their police training - in the USA?

[Aussie105]

10. A lesson for the po-po?

Not every black person is an easy target for intimidation.

Actually, apology rejected - a follow up about the 'complaint' that led to him being detained needs to be made.
Legit or made up? Who made the complaint, and what was the complaint about?

Five cops, old guy needs to be handcuffed for their 'protection'?
More like, for their entertainment! And bragging rights in the po-po lunch room.

[Ligyron]

11. At least he's alive to tell the story.

In some places he's a been shot dead instead of just handcuffed.

Yeah, I'm looking at you America.

On a lighter note: I see they have to wear silly outfits in Canada, just like in the UK, in order to dispense justice.

OK, well at least he doesn't have to put on one of those ridiculous wigs too

[Jedi Guy]

18. At least some of them wear the wigs.

I had to go traffic court over a ticket, and the judge was wearing the full robes plus the wig. I felt like it was a bit overkill for, you know, traffic court. Equally as amusing was one fellow who referred to the judge as "Your Worship" instead of "Your Honor." I guess he was going for the Han Solo vibe.

[Bev54]

24. The judges in Canada wear robes as do the lawyers

but they do not wear wigs, that is only in the UK. This is stop in Vancouver is disgusting and will be one more reason for Vancouverites to dislike their police force. There has been some trigger happy police as well as racist tendencies that do not go over well in a very liberal city like Vancouver.

[Jedi Guy]

27. Could be I'm misremembering it, it was nearly 10 years ago. N/T

[OldBaldy1701E]

33. I have to ask.

Do you still refer to judges as 'beaks'? I know that is an old phrase...

[Ligyron]

34. Are you asking me?

Because I’d be the wrong person to answer that question, sorry.

[pamdb]

12. O canada

Nice to know we’re not the only ones.

[The Jungle 1]

13. I wish he would have just let it play out.

Say nothing and see where it goes.

[JohnSJ]

14. Too dangerous

[The Jungle 1]

15. He was in Canada so the risk was lower.

However there would be risk.

[COL Mustard]

16. Wait...The Cops APOLOGIZED????

WTF? Here they'd have found some reason to arrest the dude, after they tasered him.

[llashram]

17. trump made it open season

on POC for racists worldwide. Sad actually for me to see just how reviled and feared POC are worldwide. Not that this is something new. Just the open hate of white people who are racist. The RW wants a race war/class war to be able to install their final oligarchy so the rich and powerful can be lords again over the "unwashed masses".

[onetexan]

23. Horrifying, demented &pathetic isnt it?

[PatSeg]

21. 81 years old???

How threatening could he appear? And I seriously doubt he looked like a 40 year old. Just very lazy racial profiling, any black guy will do.

[Fiendish Thingy]

22. He was arrested in one of Vancouver's poshest neighborhoods

A neighborhood probably filled with Karens.

If he’d been strolling on the East Side of Vancouver, nobody would have cared.

[Bev54]

29. He was walking the seawall in Stanley Park

which would be like walking in Central Park in NY city.

[left-of-center2012]

25. "The cops removed the handcuffs after Romilly told them he was a retired Supreme Court judge."

What if he was just some average guy?

[twodogsbarking]

26. He is 81.

Did they think he would outrun them? Apparently.

[Iggo]

28. Nice headline. Except it wasn't a mistake. They did exactly what they meant to do.

[Worried2020]

30. Mistakenly?

.



W

[monkeyman1]

31. ya rite , give me a damn break !!! they should retire those cop's !!

[mahina]

32. Oh, ok. No problem.

Are you kidding me? How traumatizing is that? How terrible for all of us.

Rotten apples , rotten branches of rotten trees have got to go!

Start with signed agreement not to do anything like this kind of stuff and as soon as it’s broken they are gone, liabilities on them. Then it will stop.

Make them buy insurance personally!

[Raine]

35. So this kind of thing is not unique to the US

who would've thought it could happen anywhere else.

[Mysterian]

36. Yeah, he looks like a pretty shady character

Great work, KKKeystone KKKops!