Cops 'Community Outreach' to Harass Activists

By BOB MACKIN, 24 HOURS, Feb 21, 2009
RICHMOND: The chief of the 2010 Winter Olympics security unit said officers trying to open dialogue with anti-Olympics protesters did nothing wrong at a Jan. 22 Vancouver city council meeting.

“Our folks are doing the very best to reach out and continue to reach out and to try and understand the issues,” said RCMP Asst. Comm. Bud Mercer of the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit.

Mercer responded Friday at a news conference to a Feb. 17 complaint letter from British Columbia Civil Liberties Association president Rob Holmes.

Veteran anti-globalization protesters Garth Mullins and Alissa Westergard-Thorpe of the Olympics Resistance Network were approached by plainclothed constables David Marchand and Jeff Chartrand and civilian Derek Mcklusky after the Jan. 22 meeting. Mullins and Westergard-Thorpe appeared before council as proponents of kickstarting community security consultations that were promised in the 2003 Olympic bid.

Mercer said the ISU personnel properly identified themselves, presented business cards and simply asked Mullins and Westergard-Thorpe to contact them.

The direct method was employed because the protesters aren’t easy to find in the phone book and don’t maintain offices, Mercer said.

Holmes’ letter said BCCLA supports ISU engagement with activists, but “even if the officers had the best of intentions in approaching the speakers, their conduct during the meeting sent a message of surveillance and scrutiny rather than openness, transparency and communication."

Olympics security threat assessments released under Access to Information include fears that protesters will wreak havoc at the Games. Protest zones are under development for several venues. One of the so-called “free speech areas” will be at Hastings Park, site of figure skating and short-track speedskating at the Pacific Coliseum.