Racist rant probed in Abbotsford

ABBOTSFORD — Officers with the Abbotsford Police Department have contacted the hate crimes unit and Crown counsel as they investigate a hate-filled rant caught on video.

Sgt. Judy Bird said the disturbing incident on Friday has been posted online.

She said a man who unleashed a tirade was angry about a ticket issued for parking in a reserved space.

The video shows a man getting out of a truck and walking aggressively toward the person who issued the ticket and someone else who was recording the incident.

The passenger hurls a torrent of racial slurs, raising his arm and proclaiming “white power” as he keeps swearing.

“When did you come to Canada?” he yells as he continues his expletive-laden tirade.

“I was born in Canada,” a man replies as the passenger gets back into the truck that is slowly driven out of a parking lot as the man carries on swearing.

Bird said police don’t know whether the initial target of the slurs was an Abbotsford bylaw officer or an employee of a private parking firm.

She said the person who was recording the incident is also taunted with expletives that she called shocking and upsetting.

Everyone involved has been identified and further progress on the case is expected, Bird said.