Homeless people contend with a lot. Those who are wheelchair bound might experience more difficulty than most because of their challenges. With the rise in crimes in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside area, the police department decided to do something about it. What they expected was to catch thieves plaguing the troubled of that area. Instead, the staff Sargeant was met with unexpected kindness and compassion.

Vancouver Police Department launched an undercover assignment after a string of attacks and robberies against people in wheelchairs. According to the police, more than half of the crimes occur in the city’s Downtown Eastside, a neighborhood known for its large homeless population, street drugs, crime, and prostitution.

Staff Sgt. Mark Horsley went under as a wheelchair-bound homeless man who had a brain injury and couldn’t count. He wore a waist wallet with money spilling out. Horsley, a 30-year police veteran expected to encounter street thieves. Instead, he met men and women who looked out for him, gave him money and one even prayed for him.

During one filmed encounter, a young man bends over and closes the zipper of Horsley’s money pouch, warning him to be careful. “The generosity, the caring was inspiring,” Horsley said.

In the end, the operation didn’t see any arrests, but officers agree that the exercise was not a failure, because Horsley’s experience provided a lesson the police could share people living in the area.

“The people of the downtown are watching. They care and they take care of their vulnerable people,” Horsley said.

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