City police will cancel a ticket mistakenly given to a homeless man who is camping across from their Downtown Eastside station.

James Oickle, a man from New Brunswick, set up a red tent on a sidewalk next to Vancouver’s provincial court several weeks ago, saying he did it because he felt safe near the police station across the road.

Oickle and housing activists held a press conference Monday beside the tent, saying they would contest the ticket.

On Tuesday, Const. Lindsey Houghton confirmed a new officer improperly ticketed Oickle on April 22.

“We will be cancelling this ticket,” Houghton said.

That means for police, campers like Oickle essentially have a green-light to erect tents on city sidewalks.

“Unless it becomes a clear public-safety issue that can’t be resolved … it’s a city engineering or bylaw issue,” Houghton said.

“We’ve followed up with the officer who issued the ticket — he’s a newly graduated officer who wasn’t fully aware of the policy.”

The ticket was for erecting a structure on the sidewalk, and it’s not clear the full cost of it, because of graduated payment schedules, Houghton said.

Officers who work in the Downtown Eastside will be given refresher courses on the department’s policy on homeless tents, Houghton said.