Police brutality protesters camped out at Main and Hastings

Main and Hastings intersection as seen from a City of Vancouver traffic camera (City of Vancouver)

A group of demonstrators blocked the intersection of Main and Hastings streets Wednesday afternoon for a protest on how police treat homeless people.

Protesters gathered at the intersection around noon, and were blocking just before 7 pm, according to a news release from the Carnegie Community Action Project.

“We’re resisting the ongoing suppression of the most vulnerable peoples and those we should be holding up rather than pushing down,” Chrissy Brett, who lives in the Strathcona Park encampment, said in the release.

Brett says police held her in custody for five hours last week on an administrative warrant. When a supporter attempted to deliver a letter, CCAP says that person was pushed by officers and broke their ankle.

See also:
- New figures show almost 2,100 people currently homeless in Vancouver
- BC has received just 0.5% of the federal funding for homeless housing

Brett and other demonstrators plan to set up tents and stay overnight at the intersection, demanding better on part of police.

“Indigenous people and homeless people have been brutalized and had their rights trampled on for generations and we need this to stop now.”