Riot-wary downtown shops brace for Occupy Vancouver protest
Posted Oct 7, 2011 03:51:13 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Occupy Vancouver protesters are promising a peaceful demonstration but there’s a warning today from Vancouver’s Downtown Business Improvement Association (DVBIA).
It’s telling businesses to prepare for anything.
Charles Gauthier with the DVBIA has a list of precautions that includes:
“Having additional security, removing portable items from the front and rear of properties, [and] briefing all staff and security members on how to deal with protesters should they attempt to enter… or block access to a building.”
It’s still a sensitive time for downtown store owners after the Stanley Cup Riot. Gauthier says while the protest is expected to be a non-violent event, he isn’t sure if people with ulterior motives will show up.
“We don’t know who will all be involved in the protest,” he says. “During the Olympics, I believe it was the second day when we had [a group known as the Black Blocs] infiltrate the protest.”
Protesters sought advice from police yesterday on how to deal with potentially violent situations.
Protesters are expected to gather Saturday, Oct. 15 with help from social media in an event similar to what has been happening on Wall Street and in Seattle. They have a website and a Facebook page.
Organizers have called on the VPD to give advice on how to handle those who may turn violent.
