Police Chief Adam Palmer has refuted a claim that his department has ordered drug arrest quotas for officers participating in a $5-million strategy to dismantle organized crime networks and target predatory criminals in the Downtown Eastside.
Palmer and Mayor Ken Sim announced Task Force Barrage at a Feb. 13 news conference and the VPD has since provided updates showing a significant number of arrests and weapons seized as the strategy continues.
“We are not giving up, and we are continuing a very concerted effort to restore law and order down in that neighbourhood—to really help out the people that live there, that are marginalized and living under tough circumstances,” the chief told the Vancouver Police Board Thursday.
Palmer later answered reporters’ questions about a complaint filed March 8 with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner alleging VPD management had ordered drug arrest quotas for officers.
The written complaint, which was included in the police board’s agenda package, was anonymous but the complainant claims to be a Vancouver police officer. An accompanying letter from the OPCC to the police board did not dispute the complaint came from an officer.
“I was always taught I had discretion and I should charge people when it made sense,” the complainant said. “But now it’s clear they don’t value their officer’s discretion and decision making and their [sic] setting quotas. I don’t think this is legal, or right.”
The heavily redacted complaint also made an allegation against a VPD member, according to the OPCC’s letter, which noted the allegation “did not provide an evidentiary foundation to the reach the threshold of an admissible allegation under the Police Act.”
VPD have also confirmed officers recommend charges to Crown counsel, and don't charge people, as indicated in the complaint.
'Purporting to be a police officer'
Palmer said it is unknown whether the complainant is an officer.
“We have somebody purporting to be a police officer,” he said.
“But let’s say that it is. That’s one person out of an organization of over 2,000 people. And if we have one person that’s not happy, I respect people—and they may have different opinions. They may not think that we should be doing this project in the Downtown Eastside, and I’m OK with that, I’m totally at peace with it.”
The chief said the department will provide a “robust response” to the complaint at the June 19 police board meeting.
In the meantime, Palmer said the department has not ordered drug arrest quotas for officers in the Downtown Eastside.
“We have no quotas for Task Force Barrage,” he said. “I’ve been a police officer in this city for 37 years. I remember when I came on the job in the late 80s, we had some quotas back then for tickets and a couple of other different things. I haven’t seen quotas in the VPD for over 30 years.”
Palmer also faced questions about the $5-million cost of Task Force Barrage and how the money was unlocked by the City of Vancouver. Green Party Coun. Pete Fry spoke at the police board meeting and noted the project did not get council approval.
A report included in the police board agenda indicates Task Force Barrage was “a joint initiative” between the VPD and council, which is dominated by Sim and his six ABC Vancouver colleagues.
'Formal funding request'
Asked to clarify how the money came about, Palmer told reporters: “How council allocates money — whether it’s council’s decision or the city manager or some reallocation they do internally — that’s their business. All I know is from the police department, they’re giving us $5 million.”
An emailed statement attributed to the mayor’s office Friday said council expects “a formal funding request, along with overtime or protest-related operational costs, to come before council for review and debate, in line with our commitment to transparency and accountability.”
The mayor’s office didn’t indicate when that would happen, with the chief telling reporters Thursday that $1 million of the $5 million budget had already been spent.
As previous years have shown, council will likely expect further requests from the VPD to cover overtime costs for police escorting city crews on East Hastings Street and additional costs for policing protests.
Last year, overtime costs for the East Hastings work and protests totalled roughly $4.5 million. The VPD’s net operating budget in 2025 is $425.9 million, with police predicting a $6.9-million deficit by year’s end—with $5 million of that total for Task Force Barrage.
“Public safety is non-negotiable,” the mayor’s office said. “At the same time, Mayor Sim and council remain focused on fiscal responsibility and delivering value for taxpayers. That means keeping property taxes low and continuing to support initiatives that make our city safer for everyone.”
Strathcona, Chinatown
During the police board meeting, Fry said he was concerned about the spillover effect of the police action along the East Hastings Street corridor and how Strathcona—where he lives—and Chinatown are seeing an increase in street disorder and drug activity.
He directed a question about displacement to Deputy Chief Steve Rai, who responded by saying the police’s role is to enforce the law and that it is up to governments to address mental health concerns, including involuntary, compassionate care for people in crisis.
“The questions you’re asking should probably go to government,” said Rai, echoing comments made by Palmer at a city council-hosted public safety forum in April 2022.
At the time, Palmer expressed his frustration on the lack of leadership by the provincial government to put someone in charge to ensure agencies are working together to make neighbourhoods safer for all citizens.
Palmer pointed to the Downtown Eastside, including Gastown and Chinatown, as neighbourhoods where poverty, addiction, homelessness and mental illness aren’t being addressed in a comprehensive manner.
“We need to have better co-ordination at the provincial level and have either a minister or a deputy minister—somebody at a high level of government—who can co-ordinate all of those responses and have a holistic safety plan because we don't have it right now,” said Palmer, who has also demanded the federal government implement bail reform to keep people in jail who present a danger to themselves and society.
As of April 15, police seized 459 weapons in the Downtown Eastside, including bear spray, knives, batons, Tasers and 42 firearms, including replicas and regular firearms.
Almost 200 reports were forwarded to Crown counsel for charges and 314 people were arrested on warrants, according to the chief, who said the department has seen double digit decreases in violent crime.
The chief nor the mayor has given any indication how long Task Force Barrage will be in place, or whether the $5 million budget is a starting point for the strategy and will require more money to continue operating beyond this year.
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