Kamloops homeless advocate arrested during city hall demonstration

A planned demonstration at Kamloops city hall was cut short when its organizer was arrested around noon on Friday.

Glenn Hilke was among the volunteers who were handing out food and drinks to the homeless on Dec. 19 in an effort to advocate for more services.

“We’re doing a two-hour good Samaritan, nice thing and I can’t believe you guys want to do this. It makes no sense,” Hilke said to an RCMP officer and three bylaw officers.

After attempts to compromise failed and, after repeatedly telling a police officer they would stay for another hour, he was arrested and escorted into a police cruiser.

“I don’t understand what I’m under arrest for,” Hilke said while being handcuffed.

With around ten people at city hall, the demonstration was put on as an extension of an already-operating drop-in program at local businesses. The roaming weekend program, called Nomad, offers food, clothing and connections to services at participating Kamloops businesses.

It came after a previous drop-in centre, The Loop, was closed in North Kamloops more than a year ago. The controversial facility was a thorn in the side of some neighbouring businesses for years, but it also offered a volunteer-based soup kitchen and connections to services for its homeless clients.

Demonstrators told iNFOnews.ca the lack of a facility like The Loop, serving as a day space for the homeless, risks safety for the public and its clients, who often have nowhere to go but public spaces.

“People are forced to use public spaces even for the bathroom, charging their phones, basic human needs,” Reese Mansfield said. “They’re just surviving.”

Why Hilke was arrested isn’t clear. A police officer at the scene said it was for “obstruction,” but neither a Kamloops RCMP spokesperson nor the city bylaw department have responded to questions from iNFOnews.ca.

— With files from Shannon Ainslie