Woman charged for assaulting police officer during DTES tent removal

Vancouver police say a woman has been charged for assaulting an officer near the tent encampment on East Hastings Street Tuesday, and several other people are under investigation.

The charge of assault with a weapon against 44-year-old Alene West stems from an altercation between police and members of the public during the city's attempts to remove tents from the street.

The Vancouver Police Department says officers were called to the area of Main and Hastings streets by staff at the Carnegie Centre, who reported that a man was behaving violently inside.

The VPD says officers were present – but not involved in – the tent removal efforts. While they were responding to the Carnegie Centre call, according to police, officers were "surrounded and assaulted" by a crowd that had gathered to observe the tent removal.

Seven people were arrested, including three who were "temporarily detained at jail for breaching the peace," police said. Three others – including the alleged perpetrator of the Carnegie Centre violence – are expected to appear in court at a later date, according to the VPD.

Last month, Vancouver's fire chief ordered the dismantling of the tent city set up on sidewalks on Hastings Street between Gore Avenue and Abbott Street, saying the move was necessary to avoid a potentially devastating situation if a fire were to break out. 

Efforts to remove the tents were delayed while the city sought a solution to allow tent city residents to store their belongings, but began in earnest this week. 

The city has said it expects the enforcement of the fire chief's order to take weeks, and BC Housing says it has told the city it does not have "large numbers of new spaces" available on short notice for the people who have been living in the tents.