The burly, long-haired 59-year-old had become a fixture of sorts on the strip, where he patrolled the sidewalk in front of an office and retail centre — letting people in and out of the building and keeping an eye out for trouble.
Gates was proud of his work and well liked by tenants.
He even dressed up as Santa Claus last year to bring some Christmas cheer to the street and complex, according to his former boss Catherine Kwan, who said Gates recently parted ways with the centre.
“He was so eager to do that — he loved children and he always said he would do everything for the children,” said Kwan, noting Gates bought his own Santa Claus costume. “We were so inspired by him that we did a whole week of giving free gifts to the neighbourhood.”
Jack Gates as Santa Claus in December 2020. Photo courtesy Catherine KwanIn mid-June, this reporter had a brief conversation with Gates while at his post on the sidewalk. He appeared to be in good spirits and reminisced about his well-publicized court fight against the landlords of the notorious Regent Hotel on East Hastings Street, where Gates once lived.
“I’m doing OK,” he said, noting he secured an apartment a few years ago in a B.C. Housing highrise further up Keefer Street, where he lived on the eighth floor.
It was at that building where more than a dozen police officers responded Monday morning to assist two colleagues stabbed in an altercation with a man who had allegedly confined a two-year-old boy.
Const. Tania Visintin, a VPD media relations officer, said a family member of the boy called 911 and told the dispatcher the toddler shouldn’t be with the man and was being forcibly confined in a suite.
Officers “breached” the door of the apartment before an altercation ensued with the man, said Visintin, noting a call then came over the air from one of the officers that he had been stabbed by the suspect.
While other officers rushed to the scene, police fired a Taser at the man to subdue and arrest him. He was taken to hospital for treatment and remained under care Wednesday, Visintin said.
Two officers were treated for stab wounds in hospital and have since been discharged. Another officer injured his hand but didn’t require hospitalization in an incident that Police Chief Adam Palmer described as “dangerous and dynamic.”
The toddler was not hurt and was later seen by resident Andy Hill in a police car at the scene with a woman believed to be his mother. Hill, who lives on the 10th floor of the building, said the blaring of sirens around 10 a.m. woke him up.
He said he looked out his window and counted 15 police cars below, with officers running in and out of the building while ambulances arrived.
“I knew something serious was happening because I’d never seen that many cops together like that,” he said Wednesday, near the entrance to the building.
Police cordoned off the seventh and eighth floors, but Hill said he didn’t know why until news broke of the officers being stabbed. The only person he saw wheeled out of the building on a stretcher was the suspect, who he identified in a photo from a Vancouver Courier story in 2019 related to the Regent.
Hill said he was not a friend of the suspect, but had talked to him a few times. The suspect kept to himself and Hill had never seen him with a child, he said, noting he has lived in the building for five years.
The building on Keefer Street where police responded Monday to a call of officers being stabbed. Photo Mike HowellPolice announced Tuesday that the B.C. Prosecution Service charged Jerald Jack Gates, 59, with one count of unlawful confinement and two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer.
News of the charges left Kwan and friend Bill Beauregarde with more questions than answers, with both speculating that Gates’ inclination to watch out for children may have been connected to Monday’s incident.
Kwan said she gave Gates a job as a “gatekeeper” a few years ago after meeting him at the centre. At the time, he had visited a dollar store on the second floor that was closing and he was looking to donate toys to children.
“He seemed quite happy and he made the people around him quite happy,” she said, noting Gates told her he was a Christian.
But Kwan said Gates wasn’t always reliable and failed to show up to work several times, which eventually led to him parting ways with the centre. Kwan said Gates also had concerns over the recent hiring of another worker.
His last work day was June 15, she said.
Kwan suspected there was another side to Gates, but never delved further into his life, which included at least one adult daughter and grandchildren. He also has brothers who live in the Downtown Eastside, according to Beauregarde, who was unaware of the charges against his friend until informed by Glacier Media.
Beauregarde, who met Gates about six years ago at the Regent, said he suspected something was recently troubling his friend and reached out to him via text message Wednesday about going for coffee, but didn’t receive a response.
He described Gates as “a caring individual” who turned his life around several years ago from his dependence on alcohol and drugs. He said he hoped to get in touch with Gates to learn more about the charges.
“Until I talk to Jack, I don’t know what went on — maybe he needs some help,” said Beauregarde, who is a former administrator at the Aboriginal Front Door Society.
Monday’s incident prompted Chief Palmer to release a statement via Twitter, saying he was proud of the “heroic and quick-thinking actions” of his officers and those who provided cover.
“This was a dangerous and dynamic call where the immediate safety of an innocent toddler was at risk,” said Palmer, noting one of the worst calls a chief can receive is one of an officer being injured in the line of duty.
“Our officers made split-second decisions to put themselves in harm’s way to rescue a child. We now know that the suspect has a significant police history dating back several decades.”
Added Palmer: “On behalf of the VPD, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the community, including other first responders, for the outpouring of support we have received.”
The Independent Investigations Office, which is a civilian-led police oversight agency responsible for conducting investigations into incidents of death or serious harm related to police actions, is investigating Monday’s incident.
Gates earned widespread media attention back in 2016 when he became the plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Sahota family, which owned the Regent.
At the time, he complained of no heat, no hot water, a leaking roof, an impassable fire escape, a broken elevator, a crumbling facade and a rat infestation. He named the City of Vancouver in the suit, too, for failure to enforce work orders against the Sahotas.
The court action proved unsuccessful but the city soon closed the Regent and the Balmoral — also owned by the Sahotas — and ended up buying the hotels in December 2020, which Gates hailed as good news.
Gates was at city hall in November 2019 when city council agreed to have staff begin the process to expropriate the Regent and the Balmoral. At the time, Coun. Jean Swanson singled out Gates, longtime anti-poverty advocate Wendy Pedersen and former Sahota bookkeeper Sam Dharmapala for their efforts to improve conditions in the hotels.
“We had such eloquent speakers [to council today],” Swanson said through tears at the time. “At least three of our speakers have literally risked their lives for this moment — Jack and Sam and Wendy.”
Gates, who has previous convictions for assault, wilfully resisting or obstructing a peace officer, uttering threats, theft and possession for the purpose of trafficking dating back to 1999, has a court date scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Friday in Vancouver Provincial Court.
@Howellings
