Undercover cop in wheelchair discovers 'soul' of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

"Not one person took advantage of my vulnerability," says Staff Sgt. Mark Horsely, who went undercover in a wheelchair for five days on the Downtown Eastside (Vancouver Police Department).

An undercover Vancouver police officer recently saw another side one of the city’s roughest neighbourhoods while posing as a wheelchair-dependent man.

Between January 2014 and June 2015, 14 violent attacks on people in wheelchairs took place in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Tasked with identifying those responsible for such crimes, Vancouver Police Staff Sgt. Mark Horsley disguised himself as a paralyzed man with a brain injury in a motorized wheelchair, and went undercover for five days in the neighbourhood.

“One of the best parts of life is uncertainty, so I didn’t know what to expect“, said Horsley, who has worked with the Vancouver Police Department for 30 years. “My boss tied a pork chop around my neck, threw me into a shark tank, and so we will see what happens from there.”

Far from being assaulted, a YouTube video of the undercover operation shows people helping Horsley in many ways—helping him count his money, zipping up the money pouch on the side of his wheelchair and even praying for him.

“The community accepted me very quickly as being one of theirs,” said Horsley in a media release. “While the project didn’t result in the arrests that were expected, officers were reminded of the kindness in those who make the Downtown Eastside their home.”

As part of his act, Horsley also told everyone he met that he couldn’t count. Still, no one took advantage of his vulnerability, the officer said.

“Not one person short-changed me,” he said in the YouTube video. “The generosity and the caring was inspiring. This community has soul.”

With a report form CTV Vancouver