7 arrested after police move in to end anti-racism protest blocking Vancouver viaducts

Seven protesters were arrested Monday, according to police, after officersmoved into endan anti-racism demonstrationblocking two viaducts leading in and out of downtown Vancouver.

Officers with the Vancouver Police Department could be heard over a loudspeaker early Monday, loud enough to wake residents in nearby highrises,asking the groupthree times to leave the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts or face arrest.The roadshadbeen blocked since Saturday.

Several dozen protesters slowly walked offthe viaductsover the course of an hour, chanting "Black lives matter" as police followed close behind. A statement from police said officers arrested seven people who "refused" to leave.

The viaductshave since been cleared, though the demonstration continued east down Union Street. By 10 a.m. PT, around two dozenpeople were continuingthe protestat EastCordova andMain streets.

The group has declined to comment to media, including CBC News, except to say that the protest waspeaceful andin solidarity with Black Lives Matter, as well asthe movement to defund police forces in favour of alternative public safety tactics.

The peaceful protest would have entered its third full day on the viaducts Monday.

The police statement said officers are requesting charges of mischiefand intimidation by blocking a highwayagainst the people who were arrested.

WATCH: Vancouver police could be heard warning protesters to leave the viaducts early Monday:

Police and protesters come face to face as officers end anti-racism demonstration in Vancouver

4 years ago

Duration 0:20

Vancouver police moved in early Monday to end a days-long anti-racism protest on the Georgia and Dunsmuir viaducts, warning demonstrators to leave the road or face arrest.

The areaaround the viaducts is historically significantto the city's Black community. The area, centred between Prior and Union and Main and Jackson streets,was known as Hogan's Alley.

It was a cultural hub for Vancouver's Black community starting in the 1920s,anchored by localbusinessesand the African Methodist Episcopal Fountain Chapel.The neighbourhood's buildings were torn down in the late 1960s for the development of aninterurban freeway. The freeway plans were later dropped, but not until after the construction of the viaducts.

• Being Black In Canada

The protest is the latest in a series ofcountry-wide demonstrations against police brutality.

More than 100 people gathered in downtown Vancouver on Saturday demanding justice for Chantel Moore, an Indigenouswoman from B.C. who was shot and killed by police in Edmundston, N.B., during a "wellness check."

Thousands have also demonstrated in other Canadian cities, including Victoria, Toronto, and Montreal.

Protests against racism and police violence have spread across the world following the death of George Floyd, who diedwhile in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.