Middle ground sought on police at Pride Parade

VANCOUVER — Organizers behind Vancouver’s Pride Parade have countered demands that police be banned from marching in the city’s annual event by suggesting that officers show up in fewer numbers and leave their uniforms at home.

Pride spokesman Kieran Burgess said Thursday that the Vancouver Pride Society is trying to find common ground between a local chapter of Black Lives Matter, an anti-racism activist group, and those who want to see police involved in the parade.

“A lot of people agree on this middle ground where police participate but perhaps not in uniform,” Burgess said Thursday.

“One of the things we hear is, ‘I agree with Black Lives Matter and I can recognize what they’re saying, but I think police should still be given the opportunity to participate.’ This is a way that that is realized.”

Black Lives Matter Vancouver asked the Vancouver Police Department last summer to voluntarily withdraw from the parade as “a show of solidarity and understanding” because the presence of uniformed officers makes some minority groups feel unsafe.

The request came shortly after Black Lives Matter in Toronto blocked that city’s parade until organizers agreed to demands that included barring police floats from future events.

Besides proposing a decrease in the number of officers in the parade and asking them to march in T-shirts, Vancouver Pride Society suggested that police increase their outreach to vulnerable groups who feel unsafe participating in the parade.