B.C. Human Rights Tribunal orders Vancouver Police Board to pay $25,000 after traffic stop discrimination ruling

The Story

The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has ordered the Vancouver Police Board (VPB) to pay $25,000 to a Black woman after ruling that race and colour played a role in how she was treated during a traffic stop in December 2020.

The decision, issued last week, centres on an encounter involving Safiya Elshazly and officers from the Vancouver Police Department. The tribunal said her race and colour were factors in the treatment she received, including the escalation of the stop to an arrest.

According to the tribunal member’s reasons, Elshazly was one of four passengers seated in the back seat rather than the driver. The car was pulled over after an officer observed a passenger sitting on another passenger’s lap, a detail that set the stop in motion.

During the traffic stop, the tribunal’s findings describe an officer identified only as Cst. Cheng asking Elshazly for identification. Elshazly told the tribunal she did not have physical ID on her at the time but offered alternative identifying information.

The ruling notes that officers testified they could have searched a database using identifying information. However, the tribunal found that this was not what happened, and that the situation instead moved quickly toward removal and arrest.

The tribunal’s reasons state that Cst. Cheng removed Elshazly from the vehicle and arrested her for obstruction of justice. Elshazly argued to the tribunal that the interaction was handled differently than it was for others in the car, including the visibly white driver and other passengers who were also described as non-compliant with traffic rules.

The decision also describes comments made by another officer at the scene, Cst. Bokenfohr. At one point, the officer said to Elshazly, “you are one drunk lady,” and Elshazly responded that she was sober. The tribunal’s account further indicates Bokenfohr warned her not to “run off.”

Elshazly testified that being accused of being drunk was “extremely offensive” because she does not consume alcohol for religious reasons. The tribunal member’s reasons record that she said she was not trying to flee and was not behaving as if intoxicated.

In assessing the evidence, the tribunal found Elshazly’s account of her behaviour aligned with video footage of the incident. The reasons say there was no objective evidence prompting the officer’s suggestion that she was intoxicated, and that neither the officer’s actions nor Elshazly’s conduct supported the idea that she posed a flight risk.

The tribunal also found that accusations directed at Elshazly—such as being “belligerent” or “rude”—were not supported by what was shown on video. It said the description of her conduct and the decision to physically restrain and arrest her were tainted by stereotypes, including an “angry Black woman” stereotype, as well as a disproportionate expectation that racialized people would be more docile and compliant.

As a result of the finding, the tribunal ordered the VPB to compensate Elshazly for injury to her dignity, feelings, and self-respect. In addition to the $25,000 award, the board was ordered to pay just under $1,400 for replacement of an iPhone damaged during the incident.