VANCOUVER
Vancouver

    • 13 people charged with mischief for pro-Palestinian protest in Vancouver

    Vancouver police line up opposite pro-Palestinian protesters blocking road and rail traffic in East Vancouver on Friday, May 31, 2024. (X.com / @AaronPettman) Vancouver police line up opposite pro-Palestinian protesters blocking road and rail traffic in East Vancouver on Friday, May 31, 2024. (X.com / @AaronPettman)
    Share

    Thirteen people who were arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest in Vancouver earlier this year have been charged, according to authorities.

    Mischief charges were approved Monday in connection with a May 31 demonstration in East Vancouver. On that day, roughly 100 people blocked an intersection and railway crossing near Kaslo Street and Grandview Highway.

    "Unlawful protests that block vital infrastructure put people's safety at risk," said Vancouver police spokesperson Const. Tania Visintin in a media release announcing arrests in May.

    Images and video posted on social media show a line of police officers standing in front of a group of protesters flying a Palestinian flag. In one video, an officer can be heard using a loudspeaker to tell the protesters they have three minutes to disperse. Fourteen people were arrested approximately three hours after the protest began.

    The 13 people charged have not been identified, but police say they are all adults. They are scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 9.

    The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association has announced it will be filing a complaint with the Vancouver Police Department's civilian oversight board, saying police used "excessive use of force" at the May 31 protest.

    The group's policy director Meghan McDermott says the association was "horrified" by police actions, adding that the complaint will also cite "ongoing surveillance of people attending" protests and rallies, calling it "intimidating" and "invasive to privacy."

    Sukhi Gill, a protest organizer, says officers twisted arms, used pepper spray, put people in headlocks and threw some of them to the concrete.

    With files from The Canadian Press

    CTVNews.ca Top Stories

    A man who has brain damage has a murder conviction reversed after a 34-year fight

    A man who has brain damage and was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a shopkeeper in London had his decades-old conviction quashed Wednesday by an appeals court troubled by the possibility police elicited a false confession from a mentally vulnerable man. Oliver Campbell, who suffered cognitive impairment as a baby and struggles with his concentration and memory, was 21 when he was jailed in 1991 after being convicted based partly on admissions his lawyer said were coerced. “The fight for justice is finally over after nearly 34 years," Campbell said. “I can start my life an innocent man.” Campbell, now in his 50s, was convicted of the robbery and murder of Baldev Hoondle, who was shot in the head in his shop in the Hackney area of east London in July 1990. He had a previous appeal rejected in 1994 and was released from prison in 2002 on conditions that could have returned him to prison if he got into trouble. Defense lawyer Michael Birnbaum said police lied to Campbell and “badgered and bullied” him into giving a false confession by admitting he pulled the trigger in an accident. He was interviewed more than a dozen times, including sessions without either a lawyer or other adult present. His learning disability put him “out of his depth” and he was "simply unable to do justice to himself,” Birnbaum said. He said the admissions were nonsense riddled with inconsistencies that contradicted facts in the case. At trial, he testified that he was not involved in the robbery and had been somewhere else though he couldn't remember where. A co-defendant, Eric Samuels, who has since died, pleaded guilty to the robbery and was sentenced to five years in prison. At the time, he told his lawyer Campbell was not the gunman and later told others Campbell wasn’t with him during the robbery. Lawyers continued to advocate for Campbell that he wasn't the killer and his case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission which investigates potential injustices. The three judges on the Court of Appeal rejected most of Birnbaum's grounds for appeal but said they were troubled by the conviction in light of a new understanding of the reliability of admissions from someone with a mental disability. The panel quashed the conviction as 'unsafe,' and refused to order a retrial.

    Shopping Trends

    The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.

    Vancouver Island

    Kelowna

    Edmonton

    Calgary

    Lethbridge

    Winnipeg

    Regina

    Saskatoon

    Toronto

    Montreal

    Ottawa

    Atlantic

    London

    Kitchener

    Northern Ontario

    N.L.

    Stay Connected
    Follow CTV News