HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE HARASSING POOR AND SICK, ACTIVISTS CHARGE

Officer, if I am under arrest or being detained, please tell me so. If I am
free go, please tell me so. If I am under arrest, please tell me why. I
want to exercise my right to silence and my right to speak to a lawyer
before I say anything to you. I do not consent to be searched. If you need
me to do something, you must first command me and explain why. I will not
willingly talk to you until I speak to a lawyer.

Downtown Eastside residents, arguably the most disenfranchised population
in Canada, are learning more about their rights.

Since the re-allocation of 50 police officers to the Downtown Eastside for
a three-month crackdown on drug dealing last Monday, the Pivot Legal
Society has stepped up distributing "rights cards" to locals to be read out
or passed over to police officers if they are stopped. The reverse side of
the pocket-sized card informs citizens of other charter protections, like
the right to get help from a lawyer even if they can't afford it.

So far, volunteers say they've handed out more than 2,000 cards. David
Cunningham, a Downtown Eastside resident and social activist, says most
residents aren't familiar with their charter rights. "The police don't like
people knowing they have rights," he charges.

Cunningham, 24, is among the team of community representatives and service
providers who are also taking part in "witness shifts" every night to
document the conduct of the VPD.

"They're policing poverty, not drug dealers," he says. The purpose of the
witnessing shifts is to let police know they are being held accountable for
any abuses of power. In order to do so, witness shifts are equipped with
disposable cameras, video equipment and notepads.

Cunningham contends that testimonials taken from local residents document
blatant abuse of police power, including random searches and physical
abuse. Along with the volunteer patrols, the witness program has also set
up a "safe place" at 327 Carrall (beside Pigeon Park) that offers injection
kits for those who have been unable to access the needle exchange because
of heightened police presence.

Since police started "Operation Torpedo" fresh needle distribution in the
area has dropped 50 per cent, according to Cunningham. "Now you have people
using dirty rigs in the back alleys. That's why you're going to have a
health catastrophe."

Jill Chettiar, member coordinator of VANDU, says the group is asking city
council to actualize the Four-Pillar Approach. "Right now we only have one
huge pillar and three toothpicks. The one pillar--enforcement--is being
used as a baton to beat the poor."

Vancouver Police Department spokesperson Const. Sarah Bloor bristles at
allegations that civil rights are being compromised in the city's poorest
neighbourhood. "This is agenda-driven. Smaller groups have views of the
police that are not the same as the greater community."

The VPD has received nothing but "positive feedback" about the their
efforts from the community and local business owners so far, says Bloor.
The Downtown Eastside has been a community in chaos for a long time and the
police operation is designed to give the neighbourhood back to its residents.

City councillor Jim Green spent three hours at the Sunrise Hotel Tuesday
night but didn't witness anything out of the ordinary. "I saw three police
officers come by several times but I didn't see them bother anyone."

He believes the police presence has put a dent in the open-air drug
trafficking scene, but isn't sure about measuring results of the operation.
"How do you judge it?"

Green figures it would have been better to ramp up police presence after
the safe injection was opened but admits that waiting for all of the
pillars to be in place to start the four-pronged approach will cause more
delays.

Asked if he worries about local residents' rights being abused, Green said,
"I would be concerned, but so far I haven't seen it."

Increased police patrols of the Downtown Eastside will continue for three
months.

"We will evaluate the operation at that time," says Bloor.