VANCOUVER POLICE DISMISS REPORT THAT ALLEGES ABUSE IN DRUG CRACKDOWN

VANCOUVER (CP) - A U.S. human rights group is accusing Vancouver
police of abusing drug dealers in the city's notorious Downtown
Eastside as part of a controversial crackdown.

But police say the report by Human Rights Watch lacks credibility and
that parts may have been fabricated. The New York-based human rights
organization's report cited numerous allegations of police misconduct
and abuse of process during a month-old campaign in the area that
targets drug dealers.

But the police officer overseeing the crackdown in the blighted area
around Main and Hastings streets suggested Wednesday the authors were
ignorant of Canadian law.

Insp. Doug LePard said the group relied on hearsay, "double hearsay"
and even fabricated comments from some of those who were allegedly abused.

In the report, Abusing the User: Police Misconduct, Harm Reduction and
HIV/AIDS in Vancouver, the authors say the crackdown has driven
injection drug users away from services there to help them. This
raises a fear of increased spread of HIV in an area already ravaged by
HIV/AIDS.

The report also contained comments from people who described their
mistreatment to the authors - including excessive force and arbitrary arrest.

"Our impression is that the crackdown is extremely heavy-handed and
people are being driven out of reach of life-saving services,"
Jonathan Cohen, one of the report's authors, said at a news conference at a
church in the Downtown Eastside.

He and a colleague spent four days conducting their research, talking
to 26 injection drug users, about a dozen health experts and outreach workers.

Cohen acknowledged that he and his colleague had not witnessed any
police abuse except a "strip search" of one person done in public.

"That was probably the most egregious incident of abuse we ourselves
saw," said Cohen.

But LePard doubted the allegation.

"I don't know the circumstances and they (Human Rights Watch) don't know
either," he said.

"It's not something we do in a public place. We know the law and we know
what the Supreme Court of Canada says about that."

LePard said the report lacked credibility.

"The rest of it (the alleged abuses) mostly is people reporting
hearsay or double hearsay in which they say someone reported to them that
someone else reported that they'd seen something."

None of the people, who used pseudonyms in the report, were present at
the news conference and Cohen said he wouldn't reveal their
identities.

LePard said a Downtown Eastside advocacy organization known as PIVOT
had members with video cameras following police before the Human
Rights Watch researchers came to the city.

"PIVOT followed us with video cameras and they (Human Rights Watch)
were here for four days and the one single incident that they saw was a
strip search," said LePard.

LePard cited examples in the report that suggest some incidents or
comments were made up.

One person, Gerald B., said he police went through his pockets without
his consent and he remarked, "What did I do wrong, other than living in
the poorest zip code in Canada?"

LePard said a Canadian would have said "postal code," not the American
phrase "zip code."

Other people, said the report, were threatened by police with
"vagrancy" violations but LePard said vagrancy has been off the books
for decades and that young officers not only would never use such a term
but might not even know what it means.

"There is no such offence," said LePard.

Another man, identified in the report as Gary L., said police grabbed
him on an outstanding drug warrant and put him in cuffs and "leg irons."

LePard said he has never seen leg irons "outside of the movies."

He didn't want to give the impression that police were perfect, either.

"I'm not saying misconduct never occurs. I'm saying this is not a
credible report. They never produce evidence."

He wondered why other organizations in the area mandated to help the
disadvantaged had apparently not heard of the alleged abuse.

"How is that none of the other service providers who are not working
for us, providers down there for a long time, they are not getting
these reports of police misconduct?"

As of Wednesday, LePard said there had been no complaints of abuse
lodged with the police department.

The drug crackdown began April 6 and was to last three months.

The epicentre of drug sales, near the corner of Main and Hastings, used
to have as many as 150 dealers a day.

"Some have not left but others have found more covert ways to do their
dealing," said LePard.

"We never thought we were going to eliminate that. We wanted to
eliminate the disorder in public spaces so everyone is free to have a
sense of safety."

Cohen said the city drug abuse strategy in the area - the so-called
"four pillars" approach of enforcement, treatment, harm reduction and
prevention - isn't working because of too heavy an emphasis on
enforcement.