'It could have been stopped': Police criticized for not stepping in before violent confrontations at trans rights rally

Vancouver police are facing criticism from both sides over their handling of a transgender rally that descended into chaos, resulting in at least two assault investigations.

According to the Vancouver Police Department, between 75 and 100 people gathered for a rally in Vancouver’s Grandview Park Friday. It was being held to mark International Transgender Day of Visibility.

One attendee who spoke to CTV News chose to only go by her first name, Steph.

“The rally was organized by a young person in Coquitlam,” Steph said. “It was just intended to be kind of like a happy, uplifting, supportive place for folks to gather and that’s really what we’d hoped would happen.”

Tensions boiled over when a small group of counter-protesters arrived, and police believe at least two people were assaulted.

“It was very tense from the beginning,” Steph said. “There was this screaming going on between both sides for at least an hour.”

POLICE CRITICISM

Those on both sides say the situation could have been avoided altogether had police stepped in earlier.

“It’s really frustrating that it was allowed to spiral to the point that it did, because it could have been stopped,” Steph said. “Had someone actually stepped in and said, ‘No, we know why you’re here. This is not acceptable.’”

Speaking on a podcast, counter-protester Chris Elston said he also believes “police did nothing.”

In reaction to the events at the rally, Morgane Oger said she felt “sadness and horror and frustration.”

Oger was the first person who identified as transgender to run for election to B.C.'s legislature, and in 2019 won a landmark human rights case against an anti-LGBT activist.

“I respect that Vancouver police were trying to just keep it low-key, but at the same time that man should have been moved off of that space when he was just there only for the purpose of bothering people,” Oger said.

“It breaks my heart to see that a woman actually took the bait and reacted and I know how hard it is not to do that, (but) you shouldn’t be subjected to people harassing you until you react.”

Social media users have also been singling out individual police officers, leading Vancouver police Deputy Chief Howard Chow to say he is “appalled” by the “vile and abusive comments.”

WELL-KNOWN COUNTER-PROTESTER

Police did not identify the alleged assault victims, but one activist has identified himself. Chris Elston, who goes by the moniker Billboard Chris, has been posting videos and comments to social media since the incident occurred.

Speaking on the DML Podcast, Elston was asked if he frequently dealt with people who wanted to “put him in the ground.”

He responded: “It’s not the first time it’s happened to me. I've had probably 25 assaults committed against me.”

According to the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, Elston is a B.C. insurance broker who travels North American and “his chosen crusade is against the rights of trans people.”

Elston’s website focuses on his opposition to the use of puberty blockers to treat children with gender dysphoria and claims children are being "indoctrinated" into believing they were born in the wrong bodies.

Elston is well-known in the trans community for turning up at rallies and gatherings.

“He bills himself as this calm dude who just wants to sit down and have a conversation with you, but he will go up to you and ask you things like, ‘Why do you support mutilating children? Why are you a pedophile? Why do you support pedophiles?’” Steph said.