[news] NEWS RELEASE - Vancouver Police Brutally Assault Eight Eastside Residents

[resist at resist.ca]

For Immediate Release
March 5, 2004

(High resolution photos of assaulted individuals available at 
http://resist.ca/~vpdbrutality)

Vancouver Police Brutally Assault Eight Eastside Residents

At approximately 2:30 AM on Sunday, February 29th, members of the 
Vancouver Police Department attacked six women and two men returning 
home from a show at the Waldorf.

The eight eastside residents were walking up Hastings Street, when 
police arrived on the scene, and confronted the residents.

Women from the group asked why they were being stopped. Responses from 
the attending officers were hostile as one of the women questioning 
their actions was shoved and told to "shut up" by the officers.

Officers refused to respond to any other questions, provide reason for 
detainment, or acknowledge their badge numbers to the group, and 
responded with hostility. The officers became physically aggressive and 
grabbed one of the women under the guise of trying to arrest her.

At this point, several other back up officers arrived at the scene and 
began to assault the others from the group.

Batons and pepper spray at close-range were employed on all of the seven 
resulting in injuries from bruising to fractured ribs.

One woman was hospitalized with an injury to her eye and head, and four 
people were knocked unconscious at the scene.  

A 911 call was made at the scene by a witness bystander. Seven people 
required medical attention on the scene and at the police precinct.

"I saw five police kicking and punching one woman who was 
handcuffed, face down and her feet restrained, she was screaming for 
help, and I was telling them to stop," said eyewitness Kathleen 
Yearwood.

At the height of the police riot, there were approximately 30 police and 
15 cars, and Hastings Street was shut down for two hours. People on the 
street who were requesting the police stop the violence were threatened 
with arrest.

After the assaults and arrests which continued for over an hour, seven 
people were held in custody for 18 hours and are now facing criminal 
charges for obstruction, mischief and assault on police officers.

It is suspected that police were particularly cruel to these individuals 
as they are well-known political activists from the Downtown Eastside 
community.

Witnesses to the event were shocked at the illegality and unprovoked 
violence from the police.

On March 9, 2004 at 9am the seven defendants will be in court for their 
first appearance. We are asking for your support and donations to assist 
in legal defense and in moving forward with legal action against the 
Vancouver Police Department.

This is not an isolated incident. This happens to people everyday in the 
Downtown Eastside.  We cannot allow the increased police forces in 
Vancouver to barricade us in our homes for fear of violent reprisals.

-30-

Media Contacts:  
Kathleen Yearwood - 604-561-5724  /  604-255-7915
Jessica Peart  - 778-868-8175
 (Print copies of photographs available on request.)