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, pushing and shoving, and were told to keep behind their 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.
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.
Please refer to my blog and flickr account for more information and photography.
http://nofutureface.blogspot.com/2009/08/protest-against-police-brutalit...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nofutureface/sets/72157621822039751/
Seeya on the streets,
nofutureface
The site for the Vancouver local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.