Vancouver housing activist arrested as Oppenheimer decamped

One person was arrested at Oppenheimer Park Monday, as Vancouver Park Rangers and police continued decampment efforts.

According to the VPD, “officers were forced to arrest a man in his 30s who attempted to interfere and obstruct the Park Rangers.”

“The person arrested does not live within the encampment. He is currently in custody as we prepare a Report to Crown counsel,” police said in a social media post.

The person taken into custody was Ryan Sudds with StopTheSweeps.

Video posted online show Sudds being picked up and carried away by officers, as people shout “shame” at them.

“We got you, Ryan,” one person is heard saying, as Sudds is taken away.

Another video shared on social media shows Sudds sitting on the sidewalk near Oppenheimer.

“I just want to say that what’s been happening here is awful. It shouldn’t have to take people like me getting arrested to do this. Everybody should be fighting back here,” Sudds told the camera, before he turns and tells an officer the handcuffs on him are hurting him.

“I am in physical pain. They are too tight,” he’s heard saying.

A new round of decampment efforts at Oppenheimer Park began last week, as park rangers asked people to move along and removed belongings. Police have been at the park to support rangers, the VPD says.

Speaking to The Leader Spirit last Tuesday, Sudds said winter decampments not only endanger lives but also hinder people’s search for shelter.

In November, StopTheSweeps urgently appealed for a winter eviction moratorium, a plea that, according to Sudds, has been ignored.

The Leader Spirit has reached out to the VPD, StopTheSweeps, and the City of Vancouver for comment.

-With files from Charlie Carey