Vancouver police are looking for a young man who left a knapsack full of bottles filled with paint and urine — along with his wallet and ID — at a violent protest on Wednesday.

About two dozen members of Vancouver's Anti-Poverty Committee clashed with police outside Heritage Hall on Main Street, during a bid to disrupt the annual general meeting of the civic Non-Partisan Association, Mayor Sam Sullivan's political party.

Anti-Poverty Committee protesters confront Vancouver police on Main Street.
(CBC)

The protesters simply went too far, Police Chief Jamie Graham said Thursday.

"When some of these fringe groups start acting up and conducting themselves as these characters did last night, I think the gloves are going to come off and they will find themselves more and more times in court before a judge."

The protesters pushed forward three times at the line of police officers, who used their bicycles as barricades to prevent the group from getting into the hall.

When the protest moved out on to the street and shut down traffic, police on horseback moved in and moved the crowd along. The protesters eventually drifted away.

On Wednesday, Insp. Warren Lemke called the action by his officers a success as no one was hurt, no one was arrested and the meeting went ahead.

But he hinted there could be arrests as a result of the confrontation. "Three times these protesters attacked our officers," he said.

Mounted officers helped break up the protest.
(CBC)

"I want to be clear. Peaceful protest is fine, but they cross the line when they start assaulting the police, when they try to force their way into a private event, when they bring tools like that to an event.

"They are no longer protesters and they should not be receiving any support," Lemke said. "They have crossed the lines to becoming criminals and we will take the appropriate action to deal with these people."

Wednesday night's clash was the latest in a series of confrontations between the Anti-Poverty Committee and Vancouver police.