A tactic used by Vancouver police to lure a suspect to his arrest is being questioned by some ethical experts.

Anti-poverty protester David Cunningham was called Saturday by a officer posing as a reporter from 24 Hours, a free daily paper. They arrangd an interview later at a public location in the Downtown Eastside.

When Cunningham arrived, he was arrested for alleged threats made at a recent protest. The officer who had arranged the meeting had used a fictional name.

Dean Broughton, editor of 24 Hours, condemned the move, saying it affects the paper's credibility and ability to do its job.

On Sunday, Const. Tim Fanning explained the tactic as "a ruse'' to have Cunningham arrested in a peaceful manner. He later admitted to reporters it was a strategy he wouldn't have recommended.

"This is something I have never heard us doing in the past. I have heard of all sorts of other ploys, but never using this one. It may never be used again,'' he said.

Journalist ethics expert Nick Russell said what police have inadvertently done is tarnished the role of the journalist.

"For journalists, they've really only got one product to sell for the community and that's trust and credibility,'' he said. "If they lose the trust of the audience, then the rest of their work is wasted.''

While it's not uncommon for police to pose undercover and assumed phoney identities, the strategy is usually used for homicide investigations or drug trafficking cases to gather evidence they wouldn't be able to gain otherwise.

Neil Boyd, a criminology professor at Simon Fraser University, said that makes it difficult to justify the police tactic in the Cunningham case.

"We're not talking about a homicide, we're not talking about immediate threat,'' Boyd said. "The circumstances described here don't appear to justify the impersonation.''

Jason Gratl, president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said the police had other tactics available for them in order to make the arrest.

''I'd be surprised if they were unable to arrest David Cunningham without pretending to be newspaper reporters,'' he said. "In my view the police have more resources and imagination than that.''

The incident also drew the ire of the Canadian Association of Journalists.

"The police's actions in this case were reprehensible,'' said Paul Schneidereit, the organization's president.

"They've shown a callous disregard for the media's ability to do its job, which can only be undermined by these foolish, play-acting escapades by police officers who should know better.''

Last week, Cunningham, a member with of the Anti-Poverty Committee, organized a protest at offices of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympics .

During the protest, he told the crowd that the committee knew where the Olympic organizers lived and worked and would take their demonstration directly to them.

In 2005, police posed as a CBC crew to meet with John Bjornstrom, an escapee from a Kamloops jail. They spent five hours posing as journalists with him, before making an arrest.