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B.C. police chief to speak to Liberal candidate after second ad appears featuring photo of officer

Jati Sidhu had said an ad with the same photo posted last Friday was ‘not appropriate’
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Just days after Liberal candidate Jati Sidhu described a Facebook ad showing him next to an Abbotsford Police officer as “not acceptable,” his campaign is running an advertisement with the identical image.

On Friday, Sidhu said the ad was created by a Montreal company and drew from a selection of thousands of images. He said the advertisement was removed from the web within half an hour.

“They decided to pick that and do it,” said Sidhu – the incumbent for the sprawling Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon riding that stretches from north Abbotsford to Cache Creek. “No. That’s not right and I’ll never expect any people in uniform to endorse one candidate.”

RELATED: Local Liberal candidate says ad showing him with Abbotsford police officer was ‘not acceptable’

The Abbotsford Police issued a brief statement at the time re-iterating that they are non-partisan.

On Sunday, however, ads with the same imagery began populating Facebook feeds of constituents. The photo in question shows Sidhu standing next to an Abbotsford Police officer. Directly under the officer are the words “Yes! I’m voting for Jati.” A box nearby gives supporters the opportunity to “commit to vote.”

Abbotsford Police chief Mike Serr has been “directly in contact” with Sidhu regarding the ad, according to an APD spokesperson.

The News has asked Sidhu for comment.

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