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Vancouver police apologized after five officers mistakenly handcuffed and detained a retired black judge as he walked around in the morning.
Selwyn Romilly, who made history as the first black judge appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 1995, was walking along the beach in Stanley Park on Friday morning when police pounced on her.
They claimed Romilly looked like a dark-skinned assault suspect in his 40s to 50s who was hiding in the area. Romilly is 81 years old.
The retired judge said CBC they handcuffed him for about a minute and he was “embarrassed” by the incident, as the park was full of people.
They said that they had received a report and that I matched a person’s description. Without further ado, they told me to turn around and put my hands behind my back and they handcuffed me, ”he told the publication.
In a separate interview with The Vancouver Sun.He said: “I told them I was a retired Supreme Court judge. I don’t know if that made them hesitate. ”
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Vancouver Police have apologized after five officers were wrongly detained and handcuffed retired black judge Selwyn Romilly while he was out for his morning walk on Friday.
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Romilly was walking along the beach in Stanley Park on Friday morning (pictured) when cops pounced on
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Vancouver Police have not released a public statement about the incident, but Romilly said two senior force officials have asked for an apology.
He says he will not file a formal complaint.
“I hate to say this is a case where I was attacked because I was walking when I was black, but you wonder why they put the handcuffs on me at such an early stage”, he said. he told CBC.
He hopes the police will become more “vigilant” when training officers on how to deal with minorities.
Romilly made history as the first black judge appointed to the Supreme Court of British Columbia in 1995.
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Romilly is one of Canada’s most distinguished lawyers.
He was born in Trinidad before moving to the country for college in the 1960s.
When he entered the University of British Columbia law school in 1963, he was only the fourth black student to be admitted.
The father of two, who met his wife in law school, then embarked on a long legal career.
He joined the British Columbia Provincial Court in 1974 before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 1995.
While serving in court, Romilly was known for his “kindness and sincerity” and became a mentor to law students, “encouraging their early legal careers”.
Vancouver officials honored Justice Romily with an event at City Hall following his retirement in 2015.
Vancouver Police have not released a public statement about the incident, but Romilly said two senior force officials have asked for an apology.
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