MORE POLICE NEEDED IN TROUBLE AREA

A city alderman is calling for increased police presence in a
troubled area of downtown where a police arrest caught on camera is
raising questions of excessive force.

Ald. Madeleine King, whose ward encompasses the parking lot in the
200 block of 13th Avenue where the arrest took place, supported
police Chief Jack Beaton in his decision to suspend the officers
involved in the arrest from duty with pay and said the area is known
for frequent drug activity.

"I have been in communication with police about the drug problems in
that area, and they are significant," King said. "It's been a really
big problem."

Just south of the site where the video was filmed, an active
crackhouse was recently shut down, said King, speaking of a home
known on the street as the "White House" at 334 14th Ave. S.W.

The site was the scene of an intense police search after the body of
Ruchael Friars was discovered in the city landfill.

King also said the city recently received an application for change
of use for The Seville -- a building which looks over the parking lot
where the arrest was made -- and in the application there is a line
requesting that drug use in the area be kept in mind.

"I think I wrote on the application, please ensure that whatever
happens, it does not increase the drug problem in this area," she said.

Neighbouring businesses have also been outspoken about the drug
activity in the area.

"We used to be open until 2 a.m., but we've cut down on that because
we don't feel safe," said Atif Warsi, co-owner of the Raja Foods and
Grocery Store in the Seville building.

"In that time, that's when things start happening with the fights and
the yelling."

Warsi said the area has been getting rougher in the seven years he's
worked there, adding police used to patrol the area more frequently.

Since they've tapered off in the last couple of years, Warsi said
business owners and residents in the building have experienced more crime.

"They've always been a big help and supportive, but I guess there's
not enough of them here in Calgary."

At the Hop In Brew Pub, it's a daily struggle.

"We chase people out of our back alley on a daily basis," said Kim, a
bartender at the pub, who did not give her last name.

Kim said she called for police just last week after an incident.

"It's hard to push them out of this area, because they just end up
spreading out around the city."

A man who lives in The Seville building said the area is overrun with
alcoholics, drug users and prostitutes.

"This park is a nice park, but people are scared to sit in it," said
the Croatia native who declined to give his name, referring to
Memorial Park at 12th Avenue and 4th Street S.W.

"I come from Europe and (there) nobody would complain about it," he
said of the video.

"They'd say thank you to the police."