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Dispatch #6 Themes
Violent arrests
In July alone, P.O.W.E.R. received four separate reports from people who experienced violent arrests by Vancouver Police Department officers. P.O.W.E.R. is still seeking information from witnesses for three (click for requests: arrest 1, arrest 2 and arrest 3).Law enforcement militarization and aggression
Over the past two months, notable militarization and aggression from law enforcement officers has presented itself in three major ways. The first has been through the presence of VPD officers in green uniform in the Downtown Eastside. This has been a signifier that officers are part of the VPD’s “Emergency Response Team.” It is unclear why they have had increased presence in the Downtown Eastside.There also has been a number of officers with large and visible firearms.
Police at the corner of Main and Cordova Streets. Two appear to be carrying C8 rifles. August 2025. Community submission. Lastly, residents who are enduring forced displacement by park rangers have noted experiences of aggression from some rangers, including an inability to ask for ways to retrieve their personal belongings after they are confiscated.
P.O.W.E.R. in the news
Vancouver Sun: Swept aside: Vancouver ‘street sweeps’ linked to greater risk of overdose, violence
CBC: International Overdose Awareness Day commemorated in B.C.
The Tyee: A Day to Mark Thousands Lost to Unregulated Toxic Drugs
The Mainlander: Housing sat empty as people were “displaced to nowhere” during Hastings decampment
The Tyee: VPD Officers Weren’t Fully Prepared for Drug Decriminalization
The Peak: Vancouver Police’s Task Force Barrage draws controversy from the community
Community Activity
This summer, P.O.W.E.R., alongside members of Devils Club Street Medics, Weaving our Worlds, and Dogwood BC has run “hydration stations” on cheque days. Many Downtown Eastside residents must line up outside for hours at their respective welfare offices, even if there is a heat wave (or heat dome), without access to water, seating or shade. People still have no autonomy to change their income assistance date.
During our August hydration station, P.O.W.E.R. members packed and distributed cooling kits, with guidance from the Devil’s Club Street Medics’ free instructional heat response zine.
Coalition of Peers Dismantling the Drug War (CPDDW), P.O.W.E.R. and CSSDP Vancouver, with support of many people in the harm reduction community, coordinated overdose response trainings at several Vancouver skytrain stations on Aug. 29th. More than 250 naloxone kits were distributed, and hundreds of people attended training demonstrations in a three-hour window. Get naloxone trained, save a life!
P.O.W.E.R.’s monthly ‘Bad Cops’ lists are now available for download: click here to access.
P.O.W.E.R. facilitated three ‘support circles’ in July and August by and for people who have had negative experiences with law enforcement.
P.O.W.E.R. was part of an anti-carceral float at this year’s Vancouver Dyke March. P.O.W.E.R. raises our hands to VDM’s commitment to the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, and we love them for discouraging police presence at events to better include criminalized communities.
P.O.W.E.R. members contributed to this years’ International Overdose Awareness Day events at Oppenheimer Park. We grieve thousands.
P.O.W.E.R hosted an online forum with our friends at Stop the Stack, which covered a brief history of the group, charge stacking, and a cross-movement discussion on solidarity fundraising. To support, follow Stop the Stack YYC on instagram for updates and redistro your funds to the ongoing 250K Relief Fund.
New research feat. P.O.W.E.R. members
Royal Society for Public Health: "Street sweeps:" The municipal government-enforced confiscation of personal belongings among unstably housed people who use drugs in Vancouver
Click here for an infographic of the results.