A senior Victoria police officer has apologized to an 88-year-old man who was handcuffed at gunpoint in a case of mistaken identity.
Robert Stevens said Deputy Police Chief Colin Watson visited his James Bay apartment on Tuesday to offer an explanation for why at least 10 officers, guns drawn, surrounded him on Sept. 25.
“He apologized, but that means nothing,” said Stevens, who is still shaken by the incident.
The apology came after the Times Colonist published Stevens’ story on Tuesday.
The mistake stemmed from two phone calls made to the Four Mile House pub in View Royal.
Stevens called the pub about 3 p.m. on Sept. 25 to make a reservation for his daughter’s 50th birthday.
A short time later, a server at the pub answered a call from someone who thought he was calling the Vancouver Island Crisis Line, said Cheryl White, the pub’s office manager.
The person sounded suicidal and the server thought she heard a gunshot.
Police were called and asked to check the call logs, where they found Stevens’ number. However, the pub has two other phone lines, which were not checked.
“This is a big mistake,” said White, who wrote a letter to Stevens’ son to explain what went wrong.
“Our server was trying to do the right thing in letting the police know that someone was calling a crisis line. It’s just too bad it didn’t actually follow through properly.”
Stevens was told that police officers tried to call his number before surrounding his ninth-floor apartment. He said he was home the whole time and did not hear the phone ring.
He said he doesn’t plan to file a formal complaint with the department. “I just want to let it drop.”
Victoria police have not responded to a request for comment.
