Vancouver police continue to probe racist memes at posh private school
Credit to Author: Lora Grindlay| Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2019 23:19:39 +0000
Vancouver police are actively investigating racist memes that were shared among a group of boys at St. George’s private school on the city’s west side.
Const. Steve Addison said the memes — described by a source as anti-Semitic — were reported to cops after they were shared digitally between a group of over a dozen boys.
“We are aware of it. There is an open investigation. No conclusions have been reached,” Addison said. “We are working with the school, the staff, the students.”
The school issued a statement late Thursday that said a “number of our students were involved in deeply offensive behaviour online” and that some were suspended, and some were expelled.
Their statement went on to say that although they contacted police through the school’s police liaison officer, “our liaison officer has confirmed that this was not a criminal matter.”
But on Friday, Addison said a police probe is underway.
“Our job is to speak to people, review the evidence and see if a criminal offence has been committed,” he said, without revealing specifics of the investigation. “The school has issued some sanctions against the students, that’s their administrative role. Our role is to look at the evidence.”
In an emailed statement Friday, the school repeated its understanding of the “situation” as not being criminal in nature.
“The school initiated contact with VPD when we became aware of the situation and have been working with them since,” wrote Samantha Wink, head of communications at St. George’s School, in an email. “When we shared the information that was provided to us, we were advised that it was not criminal in nature.”
The Ministry of Education is also putting the racist incident under investigation. In a statement Thursday, a ministry official said the private day and boarding school for boys will be inspected next month to “ensure their policies and operations are in line with the Independent School Act.”
The school’s student code of conduct is available on their website and includes specific policies prohibiting bullying, unwanted physical conduct, verbal abuse and threats, unwelcome remarks and taunting in verbal, written or digital form.