Vancouver police defend actions at Saturday's protests amid criticism they took sides

Vancouver police are defending the actions they took during rallies against pandemic mandates and counter-protests on Saturday amid criticism from those who believe they favoured one side over the other. 

Five people were arrested Saturday as police said they responded to rocks and eggs being thrown, cars being kicked, and nails being strewn on roadways. 

Sgt. Steve Addison said arrests were made based on "unlawful behaviour, and not beliefs." 

Police faced criticism from those who felt officers did not take sufficient action against participants in the truck convoy. 

After the VPD tweeted its news release about the arrests, multiple people responded, including a Twitter user named Richard Campbell, who wrote that police failed to "arrest drivers who tried to push their way through people."

Kyla Lee is a Vancouver criminal lawyer who also questioned some of the motives of police at the protests.

"It did seem like there was a disproportionate amount of attention being paid to dispersing the counter-protest ... and that, to me, was surprising ... because with what we've seen happening in Ottawa over the last week, it's not the counter-protests that have led to the problems," she said. 

All five people arrested Saturday were men. One was arrested, police said, after he stood in the middle of the road and "told a driver in the protest convoy to go back to the valley." Police said in a news release that "officers were forced to arrest him when his behaviour threatened to incite onlookers." 

Another man was arrested for mischief after he was seen kicking vehicles, while another was arrested after witnesses reported he was throwing eggs. 

Addison said all protesters were treated equally by officers on Saturday, regardless of which side of the issue they were on. 

"Tickets were not issued to people in the vehicle convoy who honked horns or committed minor infractions, nor were they issued to counter-protesters who stood in traffic, laid down on the road, or committed minor infractions," Addison said. 

"A degree of civil disobedience is part in parcel with lawful protest."

According to the police news release, one man was arrested after officers spotted him pulling a wagon full of egg cartons and wearing a balaclava. Police said the 29-year-old from Washington state was found to be carrying a knife and had two eggs in his jacket pocket. 

Lee said there are factors that need to be considered to determine whether the arrests made were lawful. 

"Eggs on [their] own is not a legitimate reason to arrest somebody and to conduct a search," she said. 

Lee says police need to have prior information that a person was likely involved in an unlawful type of activity before conducting a physical search.

She also noted that people are not obligated to give identification information to police if they are not arrested or held for investigation.

"Of course, for those who were seen pushing cars on the road, kicking cars and uttering threats, that classifies as disturbing the peace and is an offence and not part of legitimate protest activity," she said. 

Kash Heed, who is a former police chief and briefly served as B.C.'s solicitor general, said it is the responsibility of law enforcement agencies to take preventative measures before unlawful acts are committed. 

"Regardless of what side of the spectrum people sit on, [police] need to be very assertive in their approach. Other than that, it is going to escalate out of control that we're going to get more violence in these protests than what we've witnessed over the last couple of days," said Heed.