No excuse for stereotyping tourists and Vancouver police should apologize
The mayor of Vancouver has apologized. A veteran Canadian journalist who reports on terrorism has apologized. Many Canadians who have heard the story of three British tourists who were unnecessarily caught up in a police investigation have expressed sadness and regret. The Vancouver Police Department seems to acknowledge it lost control of the incident, but it has offered no apology.
Of course, it’s tough to atone for a mistake you don’t acknowledge or understand. The VPD doesn’t see the problem with its repeated description of the innocent men as “Middle Eastern.” The force offered to chauffeur the men around town for the remainder of their visit. It’s a fluffy gesture that obscures the VPD’s role in reinforcing racism and xenophobia. The VDP needs to set an example for police across the country and simply say, “We’re sorry.”
Last week the Vancouver police received information about “three suspicious men, described as looking Middle Eastern,” who were allegedly taking photos of entrances and exits at the Pacific Centre mall in Vancouver. As police were looking into the tip, an unknown source within the police or security apparatus leaked photos of the individuals to a local media outlet. News reports and social media soon exploded with the images.
Almost everything initially reported about the trio was inaccurate. One of three “men” was actually a 14-yearold boy named Salahuddin Sharaz, who was in the company of his father, Mohammed. The younger Sharaz and family friend Mohammed Kareem were taking pictures of the sights at the mall, as tourists do — they weren’t casing the building doors. And the three tourists, who were described as “Middle Eastern,” are actually residents of Manchester, England.
VPD Chief Adam Palmer addressed the media after the visitors’ photos had gone viral. He began his remarks by saying “police received information about three suspicious men, described as Middle Eastern, who were seen in Pacific Centre mall.” He immediately added, “There’s no information to believe these men have committed a crime, nor do we have information that the public is currently at risk.”
Wait a minute. What does a “Middle Eastern” person look like, and why did Palmer see fit to repeat such a vague description? After all, he noted, police were not going to circulate the tourists’ photos of the men out of respect for their privacy. However, this courtesy was not extended to all persons who, whether born in mainland B.C. or Manchester or Medina, fall into the useless category of “Middle Eastern.”
A reporter asked Palmer if his description, which police also included in their press release of the incident, amounted to police racial profiling. “We release that (information) all the time,” Palmer countered. “We always say if they’re white, if they’re South Asian, if they’re Middle Eastern, and these folks look Middle Eastern — it’s as simple as that.”
No, chief constable, it isn’t that simple at all. Police don’t routinely release a single, vague descriptor of people who are not wanted for any crime, and nor should they. If police are after a suspect, they release all information about a person’s appearance: his estimated height, weight, age, his clothing, his hair and eye colour. It is dangerously wrongheaded for police to describe three British dudes as “Middle Eastern” just because someone at the mall did.
The younger Sharaz and Kareem are visually impaired, and were visiting Canada to receive treatment from a Vancouver doctor. But this shouldn’t really matter. There is nothing inherently suspicious about people taking photos inside a shopping mall. By insisting on the term “Middle Eastern,” Palmer and the police are perpetuating the racist, xenophobic idea that the trio were more suspicious and worthy of investigation because someone stereotyped them as scary, bearded brown men who endorse a violent, fundamentalist religious dogma.
Sharaz the elder said that after the incident, he and his companions were afraid to roam around Vancouver for fear of being targeted. Their fear was understandably shared by thousands of Vancouver residents who, regardless of their birthplace, nationality or religious beliefs, are perceived by Canadians as “Middle Eastern” and automatically treated with greater suspicion. Whether intentionally or through ignorance, the VPD played into this stigma and needlessly implicated residents who, at this particular time in Canada, are particularly vulnerable to hatred and mistreatment. Police need to acknowledge their prejudicial use of language, and apologize for it.
The Vancouver Police Department seems to acknowledge it lost control of the incident
Desmond Cole is a Toronto-based journalist. His column appears every Thursday.