VANCOUVER -- Mounties are asking for the public's help to identify the suspect in a "hate incident" in Richmond, B.C., reported earlier this month.
In a news release titled, "Do you know this person?" the RCMP released a photo of a man who appears to be mid-word, saying he is alleged to have "hurled anti-Asian slurs" at a man on May 1.
The Richmond RCMP said it was reported that the man was standing near a drive-thru window, then approached a family in an SUV.
Police say the suspect is alleged to have yelled at the family. Police have not said what he was allegedly yelling about.
Officers say a bystander intervened, telling the man to leave, and the suspect then shouted racial slurs at the bystander.
The RCMP said the detachment found out about the incident two days later, when video was posted on social media.
"As a result, police were unable to locate the man, identify him and speak to him immediately," the RMP said.
CTV News covered the incident earlier this month, which occurred at a Burger King on Steveston Highway.
Benjamin Wong, the bystander, was one of the people stuck in the drive-thru line at the time, and told CTV the man had been shouting racial taunts at an Asian family before he intervened.
Wong said he is Chinese, and was "quite upset" by what he heard.
He's the one who recorded video, on a dashboard camera, in which a man can be heard yelling profanities including "f---ing Chinese" and "I can f---ing kill you."
Wong then pulled out his cellphone, and said it was at that time that the suspect's tone changed. He said the man noticed him filming and became "a nicer person," saying, "Nice to meet you" and walking away.
Wong said he later reported the incident to the B.C. Hate Crimes hotline at 1-855-462-5733.
Mounties said Thursday this delay in reporting caused a bit of a delay in the investigation. While the hotline was recently set up by the province for this purpose, the RCMP said calling police directly will result in a faster response time.
"We need people to call us immediately, before posting video of hate crimes or hate incidents online," Cpl. Ian Henderson said in a news release.
"In order to conduct a fulsome investigation, we need the best evidence available, which means we need the raw, unaltered video, and we need it quickly so we can identify and locate the suspect quickly."
The suspect in the May 1 incident at Burger King has not yet been identified, and members of the public are asked to contact police if they recognize the man.
He's been described as white and about 5'6" with a heavy build, short grey hair and a partial beard.
At the time, he was wearing a grey long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans and black rimmed glasses.
In addition to those with information on his identity, police are looking to speak to anyone with more information on the incident itself, or with video or photos of the incident.
Tips can also be left with Crime Stoppers anonymously.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Andrew Weichel
