The Vancouver Police Board will review two complaints Thursday from human rights’ groups alleging police used excessive force, made unlawful arrests and have conducted unnecessary surveillance of people at local protests related to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East.
Prior to the meeting, pro-Palestine activists plan to join the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and Pivot Legal Society at a news conference outside the Vancouver police department’s Cambie Street precinct to outline their concerns.
Meghan McDermott, policy director at the BCCLA, said in a news release Wednesday that the groups’ legal complaints centre around “disturbing police practices that appear to be systemic in nature.”
“We are calling on the Vancouver Police Board to impartially investigate the department’s biased policing of people advocating for Palestinian human rights in Vancouver,” McDermott said.
“At their upcoming board meeting, we expect the civilian oversight body to swiftly use its powers to protect people in Vancouver from being further harmed by the undemocratic practices forming the basis of our complaints.”
The groups’ written complaints are included in the agenda for Thursday’s meeting.
The first complaint stems from a demonstration that occurred May 31, 2024 at the intersection of Kaslo Street and Grandview Highway. Nearly 100 pro-Palestine supporters gathered in a political blockade of Canadian National Railways, where 303 children’s clothes were laid on the tracks.
Police made 14 arrests, saying in a news release that day that “unlawful protests that block vital infrastructure put peoples’ safety at risk.” Police said protesters refused multiple requests by officers to move off the road and tracks, and that some “became hostile with police.”
“Our officers worked quickly, with help from CN Police and Metro Vancouver Transit Police, to prevent a prolonged blockade on the train tracks and to keep traffic moving,” Const. Tania Visintin, a VDP media relations officer, said at the time.
Police issued a news release in August saying 13 adults were charged with mischief.
'Target and detain'
The complaint from the human rights’ groups says police “violently rushed” at the protesters, which included Palestinian elders, parents, students and young people.
Officers closed in on both ends of the demonstration, “effectively kettling a large crowd attempting to follow the dispersal order,” the complaint said.
Police, including emergency response team officers, simultaneously began to “target and detain” everyone perceived to be involved in the demonstration. Publicly available media reports show “extensive forms of policing violence” were inflicted on demonstrators, the complaint said.
The groups allege police deployed military grade pepper spray and punched, kicked, grabbed and violently dragged people attempting to safely disperse. One person, they said, was strangled and choked “to the point of them requiring medical attention.”
Other allegations include police punching a pregnant Palestinian person “even after the person announced they were pregnant.”
They allege police grabbed an elderly person from a public sidewalk, arrested young people on sidewalks and stood on the backs of cuffed citizens and placed knees on their necks.
“The detentions were not necessary to maintain or prevent a purported breach of the peace, and, at minimum, the police could have considered less intrusive means, such as engaging in consultation with demonstrators, clearly informing demonstrators whether police were enforcing an injunction, and providing a clear avenue for people to safely disperse,” the complaint said.
“Given the extent of the police brutality that day, it cannot reasonably be stated that the VPD’s use of force was legal or constitutional.”
Drones, smartphones
The second complaint lodged by the groups says local Palestinians and supporters of Palestinian human rights from diverse backgrounds and identities have reported concerns about “a heightened surveillance climate” in Vancouver.
The complaint points to the police’s use of drones and smartphones to record people participating in protests. Police equipped with body-worn cameras may have also participated in surveillance, the complaint said.
“The complainants are concerned that surveillance information about individuals and their political expression may be disseminated through intelligence channels to domestic national security agencies and foreign governments, putting themselves and their family and friends abroad at risk,” the complaint said.
The groups cited examples where police used smartphones at protests outside a bookstore on Robson Street in December 2023, at a protest in May 2024 at Robson Square and at a news conference in June 2024.
“The recordings have indiscriminately captured personal information of people using public spaces to express themselves politically as well members of the public who used the public areas for other purposes,” the complaint said.
“Vulnerable members of the public, such as children and youth, have been subject to these privacy intrusions by the VPD.”
VPD response to complaints
A partial response from VPD to the first complaint about the 14 arrests at the train tracks is contained in Thursday’s police board agenda.
Given the pending court proceedings, the VPD recommended the examination of the complaint from BCCLA and PIVOT should be suspended “until the criminal court matter is complete.”
The police board’s service or policy complaint review sub-committee agreed.
As for the complaint about surveillance, the sub-committee recommended the police board initiate an external investigation and request that the external investigator report back to the board.
Recommendations from the sub-committee will go before the full board Thursday.
The meeting begins at 1 p.m., one hour after the scheduled news conference by the BCCLA, Pivot and pro-Palestine supporters.
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