Stanley Cup riot review released
Posted Sep 1, 2011 9:23 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER – The results of an independent review into the Stanley Cup riot are now out.
The report makes 52 recommendations. It finds crowds the night of Game 7 overwhelmed police and civic event planners. Rampant alcohol set the stage for a nasty turn of events.
Close to 450 police officers from across the region were deployed as the violence began. That number grew to 928 as the night progressed. That’s an acceptable number, says riot review co-chairs John Furlong and Doug Keefe, but the extreme growth in crowds overwhelmed the police, allowing them to lose control of the downtown core.
The report says the riot was fueled by booze and people communicating via social media. It points out that by 6 p.m., 200,000 people had arrived into the downtown core on transit. It recommends TransLink do a better job of using its police force to check for booze, as crowds enter the city.
The report doesn’t recommend a regional police force. “Because the VPD had the resources they wanted. They had the RCMP tactical troop. They had the ability as they demonstrated, to draw on the entire region,” Keefe explains. But, they do say better communication and training between forces is needed. For example, the VPD called in tactical equipment at 8 p.m. on June 15, but Surrey RCMP didn’t get that message until 20 minutes later.
The recommendations also include a suggestion for the City of Vancouver to establish a Major Event Planning Team, to deal with big events like this. It also recommends the attorney general create a process or special court to quickly deal with rioters.
The co-chairs also say police plans were prepared without any political influence or interference.
