| An American citizens arrest group plans to tackle Calgary’s drug-related problems, setting up shop and patrolling the streets with little concern for civil liberties.
The controversial Guardian Angels arrived in Calgary and paid a visit to the notorious East Village and Forest Lawn areas of the city on the weekend. Led by none other than the organization’s founder, the outspoken, Brooklyn-born Curtis Sliwa, the group gave a firsthand demonstration of their aggressive approach to combating crime.
"When people move away from you, don’t engage you, then something’s not kosher about them," said Sliwa in a tough New York accent shortly after approaching two people under a bridge in "Needle Park," near 4th St. and Memorial, on Saturday. "This is like a scene out of Dawn of the Dead, people shooting up like it’s their right. This problem has to be aggressively attacked. While we’re around nobody’s gonna be dealing, or smoking."
The patrol, intended as a demonstration for the media and interested citizens, then arrived at "Crack Cul-de-Sac," just outside of the Salvation Army Centre of Hope and across the street from City Hall, at which point Sliwa and his two associates from the Guardian Angels’ Denver chapter began boldly confronting addicts sitting along the fence.
"Where are you from? What’s this? This yours?" Curtis asked one woman, picking up her box-cutter. Failing to get the blade back from Curtis, the woman, who would not identify herself, began crying and yelled, "Why are you doing this? I need that for protection!"
Sliwa, of course, refused to give it back, and so she began to scream out profanities at him and his fellow Guardian Angels. The trio then smashed another woman’s crack pipe and told her to call the police if she had a problem.
"Are you gonna quit for me, too?" screamed the second woman. The small crowd of regulars at the centre looked on.
This was intended to be a taste of what to expect should the group set up in the city permanently. But the actions of the Guardian Angels during that confrontation were unlawful, according to Stephen Jenuth, President of the Alberta Civil Liberties Association.
"It may be a piece of paraphernalia that could be used to facilitate the using of narcotic drugs, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t property, and a person has the right to protect their property," says Jenuth. "If that (smashing pipes) is what the Guardian Angels are teaching and doing, then they are moving into the field of vigilantism rather than assisting in the maintenance of law and order. A police officer wouldn’t be able to take somebody’s pipe and smash it."
Dermot Baldwin, executive director of the Calgary Drop-In Centre, disagrees with the tactics used by the Guardian Angels, dismissing them as ineffective.
"I prefer a gentler approach — even policemen don’t do that here," says Baldwin. "Walking up to people on the streets and grabbing things out of their hands, whether it be a box-cutter or a pipe, you don’t do that and think you’re a hero for it."
While some decry the organization, others in the city are putting their support behind the Guardian Angels. Sliwa says he has received several requests from Calgarians to start up a Calgary chapter. He met with Insp. Bob Couture of the Calgary Police Service Monday, but city police are taking a wait-and-see approach, not yet willing to commit to anything.
"First you had the gold rush, then you had the oil rush, now you have the rush of the degenerates," Sliwa says. "They’re tribal. They defend one another. But they know we’re not gonna back off."
Sliwa founded the group in 1979 with the intent of making the New York subway line safer. Today the group has chapters in 60 cities around the world, including London and Tokyo. They set up chapters with or without support from the police. Sometimes seen as vigilantes by city officials, the Guardian Angels often receive a cool reception from prospective cities, including Toronto. Both the Toronto and Montreal chapters are now defunct due to a decline in volunteers, according to Scott Sonne, one of the founding Canadian members.
Sliwa would like to have a team of local volunteers trained and ready to patrol the streets by mid-August. |
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