A coach for the BC Lions says he was pulled over by police for “zero reason,” accusing the Mounties of racial profiling.
Defensive co-ordinator Ryan Phillips, who is Black and from Seattle, took to Twitter Sunday to describe his experience of an incident in Surrey.
“It’s honestly a damn shame the racial profiling I just experienced from the Surrey RCMP, literally pulled over for zero reason and when asked got zero explanation. Called four police officers for one black male by himself and after all the madness I still have zero explanation of why,” he wrote.
“I’m beyond aware of the violence that’s been happening in Surrey. But the way Surrey RCMP just acted was beyond unlawful and ridiculous. When I expressed myself as a black male from the states that I felt profiled, they decided to handcuff me like they’re the victim or threatened.”
Phillips did not say exactly when or where this happened and told CTV News he does not want to make any further public statements. He also said in his tweets that players on the team, whose practice facility is in Surrey, have had similar experiences.
Contacted for comment, a spokesperson for the CFL team referred CTV News to the RCMP.
The detachment’s assistant commissioner, Brian Edwards, addressed what he described as “serious allegations” in an emailed statement Monday.
“Given the social media posts, I do feel it necessary … to clarify police actions for the purpose of maintaining public confidence in policing in Surrey, and the actions of our officers. This can be a delicate balance but I feel it is necessary in this instance,” he wrote.
Citing the Privacy Act, he said police are limited in terms of what details they can provide. However, Edwards also said the traffic stop was initiated after officers observed “erratic driving behaviour over several blocks.”
He also said he is “confident” documentation was given to the driver explaining the reason he was pulled over and that he is “satisfied the officers acted very reasonably and met RCMP service standards in this interaction.”
Edwards also noted that Phillips or anyone else who has concerns about the RCMP’s conduct can make a complaint to the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission.
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