[news] A History of Vancouver Police Violence on May Day

[sabate]

A History of Vancouver Police Violence on May Day 

May Day 2000 

Police preemptively arrested 2 people before the demonstration began. Police later issued an arrest warrant for a demonstrator for “causing a public disturbance” on May Day by entering a Starbucks cafe and addressing worker's struggle. 

May Day 2001 

Police arrested a group of demonstrators for postering bus shelters with information on worker's struggle and in reference to the bus driver's strike that was taking place at the time. Police pepper-sprayed the angry crowd as the arrested demonstrators were driven away. 

May Day 2002 

Police arrest one person inside Pacific Centre mall after May Day demonstration for “attempted mischief” and “causing a public disturbance.” Before being arrested this person had been hit in the face, causing cuts and bleeding, and knocked to the ground by a plain-clothes person who may have been a shopper, a security guard, or an undercover police officer. 3 police officers then tackled the person to the ground and kneed the individual in the back as he was handcuffed and taken away. A police officer punched another demonstrator in the face and broke the person's nose as the first demonstrator was being arrested. Later on, as the demonstration reached the jail where the first arrested demonstrator was being held, police attacked and arrested 3 homeless street youth. 

May Day 2003 

Several Vancouver police officers attacked a disabled man in a motorized wheel-chair during the May Day march. At Georgia and Granville the man in the wheel-chair attempted to burn an American flag. A police officer stepped in, ripped the flag out of the man's hand, the disabled man fell to the ground, the cop grabbed him, and several more officers ran in and surrounded the man. The violent cops wrestled with the man on the ground as many demonstrators rushed to his aid. Police attacked a demonstrator by ramming him with a bicycle. Eventually the disabled man was able to leave and he was not arrested. Later, at the Art Gallery, demonstrators managed to burn the American flag, to the displeasure of the violent cops.