MARIJUANA ACTIVIST ANGERED OVER BILLY BARKER DAYS POLICE TACKLE

A PRO-POT protester pressed charges against police after he says they took
him for a roll in the grass during Billy Barker Days.

Stephen Payne says bicycle cops from the Quesnel RCMP wanted to shut him up
by tackling him and attempting to steal his placard while he protested
Saturday afternoon amid festival crowds in Lebourdais Park.

"He jumped on me in front of all the kids in the kiddy area. He wrestled me
to the ground in front of the five year olds. And they say my picture of
marijuana is traumatizing the children," the marijuana advocate said
Monday. With shades and a permanent grin, the lone protester roamed the
Billy Barker festivities Friday and Saturday holding a sign that read "Stop
the war on pot" on one side and "Pot is B.C.'s biggest industry" on the other.

In the prelude to the take-down, Payne was egging police on to try and
trample his constitutional rights by arresting him.

On Monday, Payne, who ran as a candidate for the Marijuana Party in the
last provincial election, pressed charges against what he calls the
"thought police" for political persecution and assault.

Sargent Mel Petersen said the allegations are under investigation and until
those investigations are complete, police are "not in a position to comment."

Festival organizer Cathy Walsh said Payne was being very annoying as he
protested the government's war against the pseudo-illegal drug, at one
point marching back and forth in front of the Friendship Stage as
festival-goers sang O' Canada.

"We tried to ignore him. While I certainly respect people's right to
freedom of speech, the Billy Barker Days is a non-political, non-issue
festival, so no matter where you stand on the issue of marijuana or any
other issue a festival of this nature is not a place to protest. There are
other more appropriate places to voice your opinion, no matter what the
particular issue," said Walsh, head of the Billy Barker Days Society.

Payne also filed complaints with the provincial and federal human rights
commissions, and the RCMP complaints commission.

Civil liberties advocates say the alleged incident is troublesome in a
society that values free speech, particularly in this case because it
concerns the legalization of marijuana, a movement police oppose.

Payne said police told him Friday he would be arrested if he didn't leave.
He said that on Saturday the police were petitioning the crowd to see if he
was disturbing anyone as he hollered, "The police have no balls to take me
in. They're just trying to bully me."

The officers later approached him as he sat on the hill with his sign stuck
in the ground, he said.

He said he told the officers, "If you want to arrest me, do it so we can
all be national celebrities."

The tackle came as he was walking away from the officers into the crowd,
Payne said.

"They tried three times to take my sign. When I said a journalist was right
there, the cop got up and ran away."

Asked why he would take his political message to a celebration, Payne said
because of the crowd.

"I take my message to the community once a week."

"In all my years of protesting, even when I've been pepper-sprayed, I've
never heard of someone trying to wrestle someone to the ground or steal
their sign. That was a total first."