4 arrested after protesters, tents block traffic in Vancouver to demonstrate against police action

About two dozen people occupieda Downtown Eastside intersection at Vancouver's Main and Hastings streetson Wednesday in opposition to police action that they say unfairly targets homeless people.

Protestersbegan demonstrating on Wednesday around noonand by evening had set up a small number of tents in the middle of the street, which resulted in transit buses being rerouted to avoid the area.

Just before 10 p.m. PT, the tents had been cleared and traffic was flowing again.

The group was made of up of advocates for homeless people, Strathcona tent city campers and people living in the Downtown Eastside.

They issued a news release saying they are signalling "their resistance to ongoing police violence and the justice systems' colonized violence."

On Wednesday night, aVancouver Police Departmentspokesperson said officers were on scenemonitoringthe protest, but the demonstration remainedpeaceful.

A later statement from police said "the majority" of people left the area but four people were arrested: three for breach of the peace and another for obstruction.

Concerns about crime and aggressive behaviour have been growing in the Strathconaarea adjacent to the Downtown Eastsideaftera tent city was established inaneighbourhoodpark. The encampmentquickly expanded and hundreds of people are now living there.

The tent city wasthe subject of a special Vancouver city council meeting on Oct. 7, which resulted in unanimous agreement to spend $30 million to shelter people from the encampmentinempty hotels, apartments, hostelsand commercial buildings.

The VPD had previously ramped up patrols in the Strathcona area after receiving complaints about stolen property and violence.

Chrissy Brett, a camp liaison and matriarch,said in the release that the protest is against the suppression of vulnerable people.

"Indigenous people and homeless people have been brutalized and had their rights trampled on for generations and we need this to stop now," said Brett.