Things got heated in the Downtown Eastside earlier this week, and while Vancouver police said officers were assaulted in a melee with a large crowd, some community members don’t see it that way.
According to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), what triggered the incident on Tuesday was someone acting erratically at Carnegie Centre on Main and Hastings streets.
The VPD statement says when officers attempted to take him into custody the man resisted and fought police. The VPD statement continues to say that a large crowd then gathered and became combative with police.
Videos and pictures of the event flooded social media. To say tensions boiled over would be an understatement.
- You might also like:
- Violence erupts between police and large crowd in Downtown Eastside
- Vancouver to begin removal of "structures" in the Downtown Eastside
Vince Tao, a community organizer with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), claims that the man who was acting erratically was just having a mental health episode.
“Four cops trample the guy and hogtie him,” Tao said.
He said one of the officers also had a knee on his neck and that other cops were blocking people from witnessing what was happening.
“As this happens people are obviously upset.”
He said someone from the crowd tossed an object, possibly an extension cord, towards the scuffle. Following that, he claims police lunged for the person who threw the object, a woman, and tackled her to the ground.
“Anyone who was trying to help her up, they also tackle them.”
Tao was in the middle of all of this. He said several community organizers and leaders were arrested, and that right now the community is trying to take care of folks who were arrested and hurt.
“I look to my right, and there’s this other guy. This is in the footage. You’ll see him on the ground, two constables on top of him. The third one just punching him in the head just wailing on him,” Tao claimed.
While it might be easy to say Tao is making all of this up, almost everything he told Daily Hive was followed up with, “It’s in the footage” or “It’s in the video.”
For example, the claim about a cop wailing on someone. Here’s that video:
Constables formed a barricade on the street, pushing bystanders onto the sidewalk. Randy, an elderly man in a walker, was knocked down by @VancouverPD.
0:20: On the right side of the frame, a @pivotlegal observer is restrained with a chokehold for trying to assist Randy. pic.twitter.com/667Jtf7ihO
— VANDU (@VANDUpeople) August 10, 2022
Tao also claims a man with a walker was knocked down by the VPD.
Randy, a VANDU member who relies on a walker, knocked down and swarmed by @VancouverPD constables. He was shouting to ask whether his dog, River, was okay. From @Ben_Nelms. pic.twitter.com/nihaXXXB4H
— VANDU (@VANDUpeople) August 10, 2022
You can see a full thread of videos from the brawl here.
Daily Hive has reached out to the VPD to see if any formal review of the event will take place.
The City of Vancouver statement about the event
While the mayor has yet to issue a statement about what happened in the Downtown Eastside, the City of Vancouver did. It was mostly a rehash of a statement it released about the removal of structures on Hastings Street with a few minor additions that echoed parts of the VPD statement.
The statement said that police were present at the City’s request and that police were called to Carnegie Centre when a man started behaving erratically.
“As officers were taking him into custody, the man resisted arrest and fought with police. A large crowd gathered and became hostile and combative with the officers.”
The statement also acknowledged that many community advocates do not want the work the City is doing to take place. It’s important to note that the City has been in consultation with community organizations like VANDU to “offer additional support for those sheltering outdoors.”
“We recognize that some people believe the City should not do this work, but there are significant safety risks for everyone in the neighbourhood that the City cannot ignore. We also recognize that this work will have an emotional impact on the community and everyone involved. City staff is trying to conduct the work with thoughtfulness and care of the residents and their circumstances.”
Tao summed up his feelings about everything going on by saying that “it’s abominable.”
As the removal of structures is expected to take weeks, this might not be the last we see of this sort of escalation and violence.
Follow Channels and Categories