Vancouver police investigate violence at trans-rights protest

Vancouver police are investigating alleged assaults that took place at a trans-visibility rally on Friday.

The Vancouver Police Department said in a news release on Saturday that it had assigned detectives to review video, eyewitness accounts, and victim statements from two confrontations that took place between rally-goers and counter-protesters in Grandview Park during International Transgender Day of Visibility.

“The incidents occurred when rally-goers confronted a group of counter-protesters inside Grandview Park, where between 75 and 100 people had gathered,” the statement from Vancouver Police Department (VPD) said. 

“Police believe at least two people were assaulted.”

VPD released two videos of the incidents, one involving activist Billboard Chris – a man protesting the expansion of transgender-related school curriculum and medical procedures across North America. 

Another angle of the assault on me today. Police did nothing.

The investigating officer says I instigated, and she told me it was a mutual fight. pic.twitter.com/rCQZyntjSY

— Billboard Chris 🇨🇦🇺🇸 (@BillboardChris) April 1, 2023

Billboard Chris, whose name is Chris Elston, claimed on social media that the videos show him being assaulted. Elston has threatened to take legal action against the VPD, saying the police did nothing to protect him.

This was my first assault. I’d been there for seconds. It left me with a bloody nose.

My friend @pierre_barns was on his own with some hostile people, so I went to give him support and actually move us away from these insane people. pic.twitter.com/Bt9cO7poi0

— Billboard Chris 🇨🇦🇺🇸 (@BillboardChris) April 1, 2023