East Vancouver Harm Reduction

A blog reader posted a few links in the comment section and I wanted to discuss and link to them directly. It's another look at harm reduction. It's a look inside ourselves that forces us to ask ourselves what are we and what do we endorse?

Vancouver's Drug Nightmare

HARM REDUCTION GONE BAD

the Harsh Reality of Drug Addiction

East Vancouver Darkness - Lisa

methadone heroin interviews

Looking at the videos is a glimpse inside the Downtown East side. I say glimpse because most there don't like cameras or to be photographed. Yet all one needs to do is to walk downtown with a camera on welfare night stepping over all the bodies on the ground to realize something isn't working. This knowledge begs for social justice.

Each addict has a story. Many have experienced horrible events and use drugs to escape those haunting memories for temporary relief which in turns compounds the problems and the misery. Looking at the situation, one is filled with compassion for the addict. Beat cops are essential yet the hunter looking for prey attitude isn't the right one unless it's directed at the drug dealers not the addicts.

The dealers are the ones profiting from the misery. They are the ones pushing women out of windows for drug debts. If a beat cop is a hunter looking for prey surely the hunt isn't a long one. Install cameras outside Carnage centre and arrest all the drug dealers. Don't beat the addicts. They have been beaten enough.

I remember the memorial of a Canadian solder from Edmonton who died serving in Afghanistan. His name was William Turner. They said he was the kind of guy who would say "Hi my name is Bill. I'm here to help." That is the kind of soldier we need walking the beat in East Van. One who doesn't kick the cat and arrests dealers.

Captain Trevor Greene was wounded in Afghanistan and has a moving recovery story. Some criticize him of being naive for removing his helmet and speaking with the elders. I say not. I just think he should of had one of his fellow soldiers watching his back while he spoke with the elders. He was attacked from behind with an axe.

He wrote a book about the missing women in East Van before he went to Afghanistan called Bad Date, The Lost Girls of Vancouver's Low Track. Harm reduction needs to change. Inspector John McKay is a good man. Follow him.

Through a Blue Lens

Tears for April

Stolen Lives

Laura Szendrei's Father

I was going to write about the Laura Szendrei murder even though it had nothing to do with organized crime because it was so outrageous. A pretty young girl beaten to death in broad daylight for no reason. No enemies. No sexual assault. No sense.

Then we heard that Hells Angels showed up at the funeral in coulours and were caught on video racing through traffic in colours at high speeds. Whenever the Hells Angels do anything with colours on it raises red flags. No different than if the UN, Red Scorpions or Independent Soldiers were to attend a funeral in their gang colours.

Then we hear that not only does the father happen to have a few friends who are Hells Angels, he was photographed posing in East Van support gear. We all know that when people pose with Hells Angels or Hells Angels support gear on facebook, it has real meaning in the world of organized crime.

Now this picture is innocent enough. He's posing with his daughter for a photo with a few of her friends and happens to be wearing support gear. However, someone sent the Vancouver Province a photo which they posted in their printed edition, not on the web site which was very different.

In that photo he was standing above his daughter and some of her friends who were sitting at a table. He was clearly posing and showing off his support gear as he was scowling at the camera trying to look mean. It was somewhat bizarre. Why on earth would a grown man idolize an organized crime group and brag about it to a group of young girls. Strange indeed.

I can understand some of the outrage the vocal pr reps for the Hells Angels have expressed over speculation over their involvement in the murder. However, they have to accept responsibility for what the group they support does and the knee jerk reaction that group creates within the public whenever they parade around in colours trying to intimidate people.

If you want to go to a funeral to support a friend's loss then feel free. But don't wear gang colours at the funeral. That is disrespectful. Gangs do that as a sign of support implying that their gang will retaliate which in turn implies that the motive for the funeral was gang related.

Now I will admit, notwithstanding the Hells Angels presence at the funeral and the father posing in support gear, I think it is unlikely the Hells Angels were responsible for her murder. I think it's more likely they were trying to send a message to her murderer. Although I say unlikely, it's still very strange.

Did Hells Angels show up at Juel Stanton's funeral? I know they showed up at a UN funeral where they were accused of hiring someone to commit the murder. The Hells Angels are such compulsive liars it's hard to know what the truth is even on the rare occasion they may be telling it.

The bottom line is that this murder is yet another local tragedy. Losing a child to murder is horrible. Someone knows something. If you know anything about Laura Szendrei’s murder, Geoff Meisner’s murder or Lindsay Buziak’s murder, please contact the police or call Crimestoppers at 1 800 222-8477.

Suspect arrested in Laura Szendrei's murder

Newspaperman assaulted by police trial

Well we've heard the story. Three drunk off duty police officers attacked a newspaper deliveryman in Vancouver and assaulted him. Now the case is coming to trial.

I was initially concerned the Delta cop wasn't charged at all when all along the claim was all three police officers beat him. The cab driver confirmed the two cops he gave a ride to jumped out of his cab and helped the other off duty cop on scene beat down the man who pleaded for them to stop.

This is the kind of thing that tarnishes the police and weakens public trust.

100 Kg of Cocaine seized in Kelowna

Well police announced at the press conference they seized 100 kg of cocaine in Kelowna. Indeed that's more than the 9 kg seized from David Giles and his associates and the 52 kg in Glen Hehn's storage locker but not as much as the 275 kg recently seized in Vancouver or the 2 1/2 tons from a boat bound for the Hells Angels. The 100 kg seizure is the largest in Kelowna. Just goes to show how large that 2 1/2 ton shipment was.

Two locals from West Kelowna were arrested and of course someone from Surrey had to be involved. I am a bit confused about the Mexican cartel connection though. On the news it said the cocaine came from Argentina and flew to Miami then to Vancouver. It would appear that it bypassed Mexico completely.

Although a Mexican was among those arrested, people from Argentina don't like to be called Mexicans. In fact no one in Latin America does. MS 13 were from El Salvador. Mexico think Argentina are snobs and Argentina think Mexican are second class citizens of Latin America. It's a shame really.

No word on what gang was bringing in the cocaine. Again. I find that odd. Drug busts in Victoria today too. Maybe CSIS is throwing the dog a few bones so Richard Barszczewski's contacts keep their job during contract negotiations.

Carol James' Leadership

Well there appears to be some minor rumblings over Carol James' leadership. That reminds me of when Gordon slime ball Campbell stole the party from Gordon Wilson. Gordon Wilson was the one who put the party on the map. Before the televised debate with him, Rita Johnston and Mike Harcourt, the BC liberals simply didn't exist.

During the debate Rita Johnston was insulting Harcourt's manhood while Harcourt just stood there with an American Express card and a BC Care Card. They were bickering back and forth while Gordon Wilson interjected "There you have it folks. Now you can all see first hand why we get absolutely nothing accomplished in Parliament." He was priceless. That debate put the liberal party on the map.

Then Gordon Wilson had an affair with one of his MPs Judi Tyabji and he lost the leadership of the party to which the evil opportunist Gordon Campbell jumped at. Gordon Wilson ended up marrying Judi Tyabji I might add. I thought he was way better than the drunk driver that replaced him.

Carol James is a trustworthy competent leader. I trust her more than I trust others in her party and a million times more that Gordon Campbell. I was disappointed she caved in to selfish belligerent members of her party over the pay raise. One git threatened to leave the party if she didn't cave in on supporting Campbell's second proposed pay raise and gold plated pension so she caved in to save the party. She should have given that guy the boot and voted against the pay raise and gold plated pension.

That's why I say I trust her more than the Gordon Campbell opportunists within her party. Bruce Ralston and Mike Farnworth are trustworthy but I think they support Carol. To me she epitomizes dignity and respect. Her mission is to restore dignity to the elderly and the oppressed and in so doing restore dignity to the disgraced province.

The same old stereotype is what scares people away from the NDP: the right claims the NDP will tax and spend us silly. Me thinks Gordon Campbell and Brian Mulroney did a fine job at that. It was refreshing to hear Bill Vandersalm speak at an anti HST rally in Vancouver. He spoke about the importance of education and other social programs and I shook my head and wondered if I was listening to the same Bill Vandersalm we had known.

Carol James spoke after him at the rally and thanked him for his support of the campaign against the HST and for his contribution to politics. She said he was the reason she got involved in politics when he started making dramatic cuts to education. I had a chuckle at that since I remember it well. The slogan from the teachers was "Stop Vanderlism."

When all is said and done, I'd be much more leery of endorsing a new opportunist leading the NDP in the next election. Carol James has earned the spot and has carried it with dignity and competence. She came to the Chris Mohan memorial mass in Surrey herself. Lets hope she retains the leadership bid in the party's leadership convention.

RCMP Contract up for Renewal in BC

I'm thrilled with the news of the recent large drug busts in Vancouver and Kelowna although I am skeptical about the timing. Large drug busts during contract negotiations with no known connection to local gangs. Suspicious.

Kash Heed is worried about RCMP accountability. Well isn't that ironic? What about his own accountability? Personally I don't see a Regional police force as the divine solution to all our problems. VPD and Delta PD have the same accountability problems the RCMP has.

Public accountability is the change that needs to be made not creating a new police force with no public accountability whatsoever.

Any policing changes coming from the Campbell government are suspect. They are the oxymoron of public accountability. Drunk driving charges now after two drinks instead of three? Brought in by a drunk driver himself who is railroading the HST against the democratic will of the people just like Brian Mulroney did with the GST?

Impound your vehicle for a week for speeding 40 k? Just because we have a provincial police force doesn’t mean it will be more publicly accountable. Not with the crooks we currently have in office.

The premier with the lowest approval rating in the country shouldn't be making any sweeping changes to anything other than himself. Kash Heed waving like some kind of hero standing next to Gordon Campbell while embroiled in his own scandal is somewhat bizarre. The RCMP has a noble history worth preserving. Only William Elliott in not the man to do it.

Kelowna Drug Bust tied to Mexico

Police announce they will reveal details about a large drug bust in Kelonwa tomorrow at a press conference which they say is tied to the Mexican cartel. Come on guys. We know the cocaine comes through Mexico but who was bringing it into the country? We all know who controls the drug trade in that retirement village.

East Van Town Hall Meeting

Speaking of Jim Chu, he just held a town hall meeting in East Van at the Carnegie centre in response to the sit in and public protests about the investigation surrounding Ashley Nicole Machiskinic's death. Activists claim she was pushed out of a hotel window and was murdered for a drug debt. They were calling on police to take her death seriously and the mistreatment of women in East Van.

Sounds like the police took a lot of heat at the meeting and locals expressed great concern over public trust in the police there. Jim Chu urged residents to work with police to end violence against women by reporting crime.

However, Daisy Kler of Vancouver Rape Relief said more than 70 per cent of women who contact the women's shelter never call police because they are afraid they will not be believed or have had a previous bad experience with police.

"Arrest the men doing violence against women," she urged Chu. Which is kind of hard if people don't report crime or give information to the police. Yet if there is no public trust, that's just not going to happen. Thus the dilemma.

Another woman, who lives in the Europe Hotel, shouted at the police chief as she recalled seeing a woman recently abducted by a man late at night but police refused to take her complaint, even though she had a licence plate number.

Jim Chu holding the town hall meeting was a good thing. Especially when local activists in the sit in were calling for a meeting with him specifically. That means they trust him.

The pushing to the ground of the disabled woman by an officer in East Van seems to be the tip of the iceberg. Many complain that police there treat the locals like garbage. Obviously if they report a crime and nothing is done about it, that is going to weaken public trust and discourage crime reported.

Some say that is a city hall initiative. I heard reports of police officers express their concerns that city hall started closing down the police station at night to suppress crime stats. That's kind of like closing down an emergency ward of a hospital at night.

Locals also expressed concern about the presence of Wally Oppal at the meeting and his appointment to investigate the Pickton inquiry. "I do not support you being the head of the commission," Radek told Oppal. "You didn't support us when we called for a public inquiry." She suggested Oppal is using the inquiry to boost his pension income.

I for one certainly didn't think he was a good choice to lead the inquiry. He was a former judge who publicly declared the judicial system in BC was fine and was soundly defeated in his re election bid. Public perception is he's a good choice to oversea the Pickton inquiry if the government wants to cover something up. Maybe he can oversea the Kash Heed scandal as well.

The whole meeting reminds me of an all candidates meeting that was held at First United during the civic election when the Woodwards Squat was on. Many locals expressed many concerns. One candidate expressed her concern over an NPA policy of having the police evict homeless from under bridges in the city. She thought that was cruel.

One of the people who had been evicted from under a bridge spoke and expressed his concern about having all his personal possessions stolen by the police as he was evicted. I cited the practice and asked where this police brutality will take us as a society. One candidate who was a former police officer got defensive and started to back pedal as he talked about the many accusations of the police assaulting members of the community in East Van.

I explained I wasn't taking about assaults when I was referring to police brutality. I was referring to the cruel practice of evicting homeless from under bridges and stealing their few personal possessions in a time when record budget cuts had seen a record number of homeless on the street. I said that practice was cruel and brutal then asked where will that kind of brutality take us as a society?

That was the year when the NPA was wiped out and COPE won a landslide under the leadership of Larry Campbell, Vancouver's own Da vinci. Although things greatly improved temporarily, some things went in the wrong direction and the over all situation has got worse. The Four Pillars program was about four pillars not one. Every time extremists from VANDU cited the four pillars they over emphasised the harm reduction pillar and ignored the other three pillars in the program.

The four pillars consist of Prevention, Treatment, Enforcement and Harm Reduction. Extremists completely ignore the enforcement and completely erase that one. All they do is scream harm reduction over and over again like spoilt brats demanding every drug under the sun at taxpayers expense. One officer referred to the program as the one legged horse. Four pillars will not support a building or a program if you only use one pillar. It’s like only using one oar in a boat designed for four. You just keep going in circles.

I'll tell ya what harm reduction is. Harm reduction is removing all the crack dealers from an area where addicts are seeking treatment for drug addiction. When an addict is seeking treatment and everywhere they go they have dealers in their face crying Crack Crack Crack like possessed ducks from an Alfred Hitchcock movie then that addict can't recover or have effective treatment.

We need to get over ourselves and stop suppressing crime statistics by making crime difficult to report in East Van. Reopening the police station at night would help. We need to end the brutality towards the homeless and we need to stop caving in to VANDU and start enforcing the drug laws that do exist by arresting the drug dealers outside the Carnagie centre (and Surrey Central). We need to stop kicking the cat and arrest the drug dealers not the drug addicts. They are the ones throwing women out of windows in East Van. That kind of violence needs to stop.

Spotlight on Prince George

One of the peanuts from the peanut gallery has repeatedly objected to my "obsession" with the Hells Angels. Well let's stop for a minute and look at the facts that we have on hand. Let's take a look at Prince George. We are told that no one sells drugs in Prince George without the Hells Angels permission.

The Hells Angels have a puppet club in Prince George called the Renegades. The Renegades were in turn in charge of the Crew who sold crack for the Hells Angels just like the Zig Zag crew did.

Only after the Crew started getting some bad press for cutting off fingers for drug debts many members of the crew crossed over to join the Independent Soldiers. Who as we know are not independent any more and are tied to Randy Naicker and Larry Amero of the Hells Angels. So in essence the crew crossing over to the Independent Soldiers was just a publicity stunt as the Hells Angles were still ultimately in charge.

It should then come as no surprise that the Crew, acting under the banner of the Independent Soldiers, have maintained their ruthless debt collecting tactics of hacking off fingers for drug debts. Yet their "rivals," the Game Tight Soldiers are also tied to the Hells Angels. Steven King, the leader of the Game Tight Soldiers was seen wearing a Renegades rocker riding with a Renegades patch member. So clearly the Hells Angels are tied to both groups and still run the drug trade in Prince George.

So when we hear of people dying in Prince George over drugs or getting their fingers cut off for drug debts or found chained in the basement of a crack house in Prince George getting tortured for drugs debts, clearly the Hells Angels are ultimately responsible and financially benefit from it.

That leads us to the nest question. If the Hells Angels run the drug trade in Prince George and are ultimately responsible for the drug related violence there, what about Dawson creek?

That's close to Prince George and we have been hearing sad tales of drug related violence there from people who claimed the Hells Angels were involved. Since the Hells Angels run the drug trade in Prince George logic would dictate they would be prime suspects for the drug trade in Dawson creek and the drug related violence there.

Then we have to ask, if the Hells Angels control the drug trade in Prince George and quite possibly Dawson creek as well, where else to they do business? We know the East Vancouver chapter are actively involved in Kelowna as that appears to be their retirement village. What about Ontario. We know the Hells Angels in Ontario were primarily involved in the drug trade. In fact their business was a violent bid to take over the drug trade in smaller towns once they were established in the larger cities.

Here's the obvious one. If the Hells Angels control the drug trade in Prince George and if the East Vancouver chapter has expanded into Kelowna, what about East Vancouver? Who runs the drug trade in East Van? If the Hells Angels are so determined to violently take over the drug trade in smaller towns, how can the East Vancouver chapter not control the drug trade in East Vancouver?

Perhaps some of the residents of Prince George will be empowered by the Gang task force's presence and their upcoming Gang Summit. Perhaps Dawson Creek will be the next stop on the tour. Hopefully some more tips start coming in so the cause of the violence can be dealt with.

Jim Chu saves the day

We all know the police have taken a few PR shots over the last few years. The most obvious one was the RCMP taser incident at the airport. What a tragedy. Obviously it was a mistake. Personally I have a problem with police getting a guy on the ground then tasering him over and over again while they already have him down. I would deem that to be a miss use of the weapon.

Nevertheless, we know the VPD have taken a few hits as well. Beating up the wrong guy when they responded to a domestic dispute comes to mind. The young cop that was caught selling pot on duty is another yet the RCMP just caught one of theirs for possession of pot. For me the cop pushing the disabled woman to the ground was the real shocker.

So here we have Jim Chu front and centre problem solving like he does so well. In response to the provincial government's proposed model for an Independent Investigation Office he has called for a greater role by a civilian body to investigate alleged crimes by police. I agree. Any appointed body is met with cynicism. Especially the new appointment to the RCMP. I think an increased role of a civilian body would be a healthy balance and help restore or build public trust.