Vancouver mayor apologizes to men in mall photos who were labelled ‘suspicious’
VANCOUVER — The mayor of Vancouver has apologized to two men and a teenage boy singled out in an internal police bulletin leaked to the press for their ”suspicious behaviour” at a downtown shopping mall.
Gregor Robertson said it was a mistake that a document containing unblurred photos of three men described as “Middle Eastern” was made public and that an online media outlet published the pictures on Thursday.
“I wanted to make sure on behalf of the city they understand how much respect we have for them and that we understand mistakes were made,” Robertson said after meeting the trio for lunch on Sunday.
Surveillance photos of Mohammed Sharaz, his son and his friend taking pictures and video with their cell phones of the entrances and exits of Pacific Centre mall on Tuesday raised suspicions with shopping-centre authorities, who relayed the information to the Vancouver Police Department.