Vancouver police say protests against Trump tower opening cost an estimate $105k

Protests against the opening of the Trump International Hotel and Tower last week in Vancouver cost the police department more than $100,000. (Photo: Trump International Hotel & Tower Vancouver/Facebook)

VANCOUVER—Protests against the opening of the Trump International Hotel and Tower last week in Vancouver cost the police department more than $100,000.

Const. Jason Doucette says estimates show police spent $105,000 preparing for and policing demonstrations throughout the city on Feb. 28.

Two of U.S. President Donald Trump’s sons were attended the grand opening of the hotel in downtown Vancouver, which has become the focal point for demonstrations against the president’s anti-immigration rhetoric.

Doucette said at a news conference Monday he wasn’t aware of the property owners paying for additional police security, and police were not involved in securing the visit for members of the president’s family.

The cost to police included preparations for a number of demonstrations at different locations throughout the city that day.

Doucette says the department budgets for hundreds of protests every year, but whether those associated with the hotel’s official opening came with a higher or lower price tag won’t be clear until the end of the year.

“We want people to be able to demonstrate, have their voices heard in a safe manner,” he said. “We also want to look at reducing the amount of inconvenience to general public.”