The Vancouver Police Department arrested three protesters after a downtown building was vandalized last night.
On the evening of Friday (Nov. 12), approximately 250 activists with Climate Convergence Metro Vancouver gathered outside the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy building near Burrard Street and West Hastings. Three people in the group allegedly used coloured paint to vandalize glass windows and walls of the building and were arrested for mischief according to a VPD release.
A 20-year-old man and two women, aged 18 and 16, were taken to Vancouver jail and have since been released pending their next appearance in court.
A release from Climate Convergence Metro Vancouver states the activists were performing a “peaceful ceremony where they used washable red paint to leave handprints on the building.”
“Organizers tried to negotiate for their release with the VPD officers, especially as the ceremony was done with washable paint,” the release states.
A City of Vancouver bylaw defines graffiti as letters, symbols or marks on any structure or thing placed without the property owner or tenant’s prior, written authorization.
