Protest Against Police Brutality

Friday July 31st was the beginning of the Police and Fire Games. To honor this occasion the Anti-Poverty Coalition organized a march from Victory Square to GM Place where the opening ceremonies were taking place. The purpose of this march was to shed light on the many issues involving police brutality in Vancouver, Canada and in particular the Downtown East side. Once the group arrived at GM place they were met with strong police resistance and were told to keep behind an imaginary line. I was quite surprised at how aggressive some of the police were as I was threatened with arrest on two separate occasions just for taking photos.

Protestors stand before police holding a polish flag bearing the name of Robert Dziekanski, a polish citizen who was tased and killed at Vancouver International Airport by RCMP officers.

As we approached GM place a giant banner that read "RIOT 2010" unfurled from the bridge above.

This protestor, waving a mohawk warrior flag, was getting right in the faces of the police much to their displeasure. He was later arrested for crossing "the line".

Protestors stand with signs as police look on.

The march heading down Abbot street toward GM place.

In the background is one of a few unmarked police cars that were watching, photographing and video recording all who showed up at Victory Square to attend the march.

Sign honoring the memory of Dudley George

Sign honoring the memory of Fredy Villanueva

With the exception of one arrest, the protest ended without incident. This action, put on by the APC and attended by the Olympic Resistance Network, as well as by many concerned citizens and independent media, will become more frequent as 2010 approaches. Hopefully, those who want to voice their dissent of the 2010 games will be able to without fear or harassment but as the security budget grows and "free speech" zones are introduced, that idea seems to be fading more and more everyday. To get involved and have your voice heard, please check out these website for more information:

http://no2010.com

http://apcvancouver.org/

http://olympicresistance.net/

http://submedia.tv/stimulator/

Please check out my flickr page for more photography