APEC – Commission Interim Report

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3. The Complaints

In their written submission at the close of the hearing, Commission Counsel grouped the 52 complaints into 17 separate categories which correspond to 17 separate events or situations. I concluded that this approach was a sound initiative, well executed, and provided an appropriate focus for the preparation and presentation of my report. In speaking to the proposed grouping, counsel appearing for seven of the complainants (Complainants' counsel) said the 17 categories are a good working model for organizational purposes.

The 52 complaints in their original form are appended to my report (Appendix III) so that the public may fully appreciate the nature and variety of the complaints under consideration, and why the process has taken as long as it has.

I now list the 17 categories of incident or complaint in a generally chronological sequence. The comments following each heading are summary in nature and are provided here to give some context to the complaint categories.

Details of each category of complaint, along with my findings of fact and conclusions are dealt with in Chapters 13 to 30 of this report.

1. ...UBC Security Perimeter and Demonstration Area
   These complaints allege that the RCMP provided demonstration sites too small for the number of protesters and created security zones that were larger than necessary for security purposes so that APEC delegates would be shielded from the sights and sounds of protest.
2. ...Singh Photo at ACCO Office
   Part of Mr. Singh's complaint is that his photo was posted in the ACCO offices prior to the APEC conference. He said he found this to be intimidating.
3. ...Undertakings
   On November 22 and 23, six protesters were arrested after refusing to leave their tents near the Museum of Anthropology. The area had become part of the security zone. Besides the arrests themselves, issue is taken with the undertakings that the arrested protesters were obliged to sign before they could be released. Those undertakings placed restrictions on the protesters' activities for the duration of the APEC conference.
4. ...Removal of Press Pass
   Dennis Porter was a Simon Fraser University student who had volunteered as a cameraman with Working TV during the APEC conference. He obtained a press pass, which gave him access to the media centre at the Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre. He complains that during the conference, an RCMP officer wrongfully removed his press pass.
5. ...Singh Arrest, Charge and Release
   This aspect of Jaggi Singh's complaint is that he was arrested on an outstanding warrant based on a spurious charge; the manner of the arrest was inappropriate in the circumstances; the timing of the arrest was calculated to prevent him from attending protests on November 25; and the bail conditions sought were overly restrictive.
6. ...Malmo-Levine Arrest
   At a demonstration on campus on November 24, police moved forward to a investigate a student climbing a flagpole. David Malmo-Levine was arrested when he tried to interfere with the police. The complaint is that RCMP members wrongfully arrested Mr. Malmo-Levine and in carrying out the arrest used excessive force on him and others and infringed his right of expression.
7. ...Dog Bite
   On November 24, some time after Mr. Malmo-Levine was arrested at the flagpole, Jaggi Singh, for the second time that day, and others were arrested at the plaza next to the Rose Garden. The complaint is that during Mr. Singh's arrest, Jamie Doucette was bitten on the arm by an RCMP police service dog.
8. ...Removal of Tibetan Flag from GSS Building
   The complaint is that RCMP members wrongly removed the Tibetan flag from the Graduate Student Society building, wrongly removed Kevin Dwyer's security accreditation, and inadequately investigated complaints of criminal acts by students of Chinese heritage.
9. ...Removal of Green College signs and Jones Arrest
   Signs made by Craig Jones were removed by RCMP members from the fence in front of Green College. More signs were removed from Mr. Jones and other residents of Green College when they gathered on the lawn in front of their residence, outside the secure zone just before the motorcades arrived. Mr. Jones was pushed to the ground and arrested.
10. ...Muttray and Doucette Arrests
    On the morning of November 25, Jamie Doucette took a walkie-talkie to Gate 3 where the East Timor Alert Network (ETAN) planned a protest and symbolic arrest of President Suharto of Indonesia. Mr. Doucette was arrested. Some time later Annette Muttray went to Gate 3, also with a walkie-talkie, and she too was arrested. Mr. Doucette and Ms. Muttray complained about their arrests and also that their bicycles and a backpack were not secured by the police.
11. ...Confrontation at the Noon Rally
    There were complaints that the RCMP used excessive force, including Oleoresin Capsicum spray (called, interchangeably, OC spray or pepper spray), on the crowd after a security fence came down, that they used it punitively and without warning, and that some who were seeking to be arrested peacefully were pepper sprayed and assaulted by police.
12. ..Oppenheim Arrest
    Jonathan Oppenheim was arrested on the afternoon of November 25 at Gate 3 when he was suspected of playing a role in the collapse of the security fence near the School of Theology. The complaint is that Mr. Oppenheim was wrongfully arrested and that excessive force was used in his arrest.
13. ..Groebner Arrest
    The complaint is that Johann Groebner was wrongfully arrested for an assault on a cameraman at the Gate 3 area after Mr. Oppenheim was arrested. The cameraman did not testify before the Commission and Mr. Groebner was never charged.
14. ..Megaphone Removal
    Law student Brenna Bhandar attended the demonstration at the flagpole and joined the protesters sitting on the road near Gate 3. After seeing two protesters arrested she used a megaphone to urge the crowd to remain seated on the road. The complaint is that an officer grabbed the megaphone from her and took hold of her arm.
15. ..Police Identification
    There were several complaints that RCMP officers at various times either did not display name tags or refused to identify themselves to members of the public.
16. ..Protesters Moved from Gate 6
    The complaint is that peaceful protesters at Gate 6 were ordered to clear the road and then pepper sprayed before they had a chance to do so. Some were pepper sprayed as they were leaving. Others were pepper sprayed as they stood watching. Mark Brooks was arrested and pepper sprayed as he was asking for calm. Decontaminant services following the spray were said to be insufficient and inadequate.
17. ..Treatment of Prisoners at the Richmond Cells
    The complaints are that:
    • the driver of the wagon taking prisoners to the Richmond Detachment intentionally made the trip uncomfortable and long;
    • at the Richmond cells, the prisoners were denied access to lawyers and access to washrooms;
    • the prisoners were placed in overcrowded cells;
    • the prisoners were denied blankets, given inadequate food, and threatened with pepper spray;
    • the prisoners were held in custody for an excessive length of time; and
    • female prisoners were unnecessarily strip searched.

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