A peaceful May Day march turned into a chaotic mess today as Vancouver Police attempted to arrest people who had been seen postering on public bus stops. Police had acted aggressively from the early moments of the demonstration, knocking over a bucket of flour water which was being used to adhere posters to bus shelters and then physically getting between people and the shelters. The 500 person march was otherwise uneventful with the main body of people working their way throughout the streets. A game of cat and mouse between posterers and police continued throughout the afternoon with police intervening after posters were put up. Police pinched, pushed and forearmed anyone between themselves and the bus shelters in a bid to stop further postering. (Someone seems to have forgotten to tell them that the transit union has been on strike for the past month) At one point, an officer who had forced himself between protesters and a bus shelter was surrounded by dozens of protesters chanting shame and demanding to know why he was being so aggressive in defending a bus shelter.

The march ended around 1 PM and people began to disperse. As the main group of posterers headed away from the protest the police isolated them and began arresting people. Protesters coming to the aid of the arrestees staged an impromptu sit-in around the police paddywagon and were pepper sprayed in the face. As protesters surrounded the van police began shoving the crowd with the crowd shoving back. In the mayhem, one person broke an umbrella over an officer's head which was then used by police to justify the initial arrests. Ambulances were required for those protesters who had been pepper sprayed.

Inspector D. Jones of the Vancouver Police Department, recently returned from the FTAA protests in Quebec stated that 7 persons had been arrested. 6 were charged with obstruction of justice while posters were being put up and one was charged with assault of a police officer. In his statement to the press he claimed that a riotous crowd had attacked the police officers. He also stated that his experience in Quebec had taught him that police needed to act quickly to disperse crowds. The protesters were released early this evening.