EasyPark Vancouver tapes trespass notice to man sleeping on street: TikTok user
Posted January 10, 2022 4:41 pm.
Last Updated January 11, 2022 6:35 pm.
A TikTok video detailing an EasyPark Vancouver officer allegedly taping a trespassing notice on a sleeping man has amassed over 30,000 views and reaction from the city.
Anna Gouthro says she was walking in Gastown when she saw two EasyPark employees taping a paper onto the man.
“It felt like a very targeted action. And the fact that the security guards were standing over him and kind of making a joke out of it was also just so disrespectful and dehumanizing,” Gouthro said in an interview with CityNews.
Although Gouthro did not capture the parking attendants nor the sleeping man on video, she took a picture of the trespassing notice laying next to belongings in the place she says the man was laying.
“I’ve seen people hanging out in that same sort of overhang area smoking and being kind of loud and rowdy for much longer than I saw that person just lying there quietly,” she said. “I’ve never seen them get any tickets for loitering or trespassing or anything like that.”
A TikTok user says she saw EasyPark officers taping a trespassing ticket to a man sleeping on the street. @CityofVancouver says they “condemn” the incident. pic.twitter.com/0yLnQzLjNH
— Katarina Szulc (@KatarinaSzulc) January 11, 2022
In an interview with CityNews, Gary Bradley, director of operations for EasyPark Vancouver, says the company operates through a third-party security provider and it is not uncommon for security to issue trespassing warnings.
However, Bradley says the alleged manner in which this warning was issued does not align with the company’s policy.
“We have gone back to educate our staff to make sure something like this does not happen again and to make sure these warnings are issued to a coherent person, not leaving it on them or on their belongings,” Bradley said.
The City of Vancouver uses EasyPark as a third-party parking regulator and in an emailed statement to CityNews, the city said it “condemns” the incident.
“The city condemns this disrespectful act against the dignity of this individual,” the statement reads. “We are following up with Easy Park and investigating this incident.”
