Vancouver police blame anarchists and drunken youth for riots
Vancouver police chief told media today that the riots downtown after the Stanley Cup final game last night was started by anarchists and made worse by intoxicated youth.
"The rioters were criminals and anarchists equipped with goggles, masks and gasoline," he said. "They came with a plan." Chu said that the anarchists were the same people who caused problems during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He said 100 arrests were made so far, and that they intend to make many more as tips come in.
Chu said nine police officers were injured while containing the violence, and that two police cars were destroyed in the riot. He said that the Vancouver Police had managed a crowd that was three times larger than during the 1994 Stanley Cup riots, and that it took half the time -- around three hours -- to control the situation.
Chu said that while anarchists were responsible for instigating the riots, the unrest was made worse by "younger people" -- often teenagers -- who were heavily drinking before becoming involved in the violence. He said that "parents have to answer" for the the damages caused by their children.
Assistant chief Wade Pierlot of the Vancouver fire and rescue service said that the biggest obstacle for fire trucks last night was lack of access, due to large crowds blocking the roads. He said that there were 387 fire incidents in total, and that fire crews were asked not to use sirens in order to maintain a low profile.
Reporters asked Chu repeatedly whether the Vancouver police should have taken more action to prevent the anarchists -- many were known to police -- from instigating violence. They asked whether the police was too passive in their response to the riots, and whether they could have predicted the unrest as the Canucks were close to losing the game against the Bruins.
Chu, who was part of the response team during the 1994 riots, said that police had to switch from a "meet-and-greet" tactic to "crowd dispersal" and that it had to prioritize the safety of the crowd. He said although "hundreds" of police officers were downtown, reinforcements took time to come in from other areas because they were initially were initially focused on regional policing.
Chu said police had captured over 1,000 minutes of footage of the rioters and had were receiving many tips from the public who had photographed and videotaped the riot.
Objects used during the riots.
Here are some photos by VO photojournalist Joshua Hergesheimer of last night's police efforts to control the crowd: See more of his astonishing shots of the riot here:
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(8) Comments
"IT WAS THE ANARCHISTS!!! Yeah.. and.. THE DRUNK TEENAGERS! AND THEIR IRRESPONSIBLE PARENTS ARE TO BLAME! YEAHHHHH!"
I am from Dallas, Texas and I have always had the deepest amount of respect for the people of Canada and how they always conduct themselves with acceptance and compassion for each other, foreigners and complete strangers.
I had the privilege of visiting Vancouver, Windsor and Toronto earlier in my life and I instantly fell in love with the people, culture and respect that everyone had for their community.
After I saw the video of the riots, it just broke my heart. I know that the majority of Canadians are probably heartbroken as well and feel ashamed at what happened.
I hope that the anarchists and whoever else allowed this to happen are not just caught and sent to jail, but also placed in the middle of the Vancouver hockey ring where Canuck fans will be allowed to boo at them for the entire length of one game.
Then they should be sent to a burn center where they will have to listen to the stories of burn victims who suffer from the agonizing effects of fire.
And finally, they should be told to build a ladder 100 feet high with wood and nails. When they are finished, they will be told to climb up that ladder and stand on a ledge. Then an affected business owner will come by and knock it down to the ground yelling "how does it feel to have something you built with your own two hands knocked out from under you?"
Someone should show the Vancouver Police Department this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLfEWXGEqbQ
If they weren't destroying, looting, cheering, marching or beating on each other, this crowd could be anywhere else in society doing completely normal things - like watching a hockey game.
@darryl Wow. That brought tears to my eyes and I'm not even from Canada.
When dealing with anarchists, the most important weapon is the sniper rifle; dozens of them, from rooftops. If the police won't use them, then it's time for the citizens to rise up. You can watch your city burn, or you can do something about it.
Vancouver's mayor, Gregor Robertson, declared today that there's no reason not to hold other mob gatherings of 100,000-plus people in downtown Vancouver. He made no mention of how he plans to control the mega-crowd events. Last night's hooliganism is ample proof that a much bigger police budget is necessary to prevent these events from getting out of control. The solution of course is to blanket the scene with cops. But surely Vancouver tax payers would scream murder at the astronomical cost. A much cheaper solution is to get rid of the mayor. Taxpayers will have their chance in November.
Gerry, I don't think you necessarily have to "blanket the scene with cops." What Chu lacked was intelligence... knowing that an organized group intended to incite riot. The same thing happened during the Olympics, but the intelligence was there, the cops knew who was going to do what, and could take action. Chu agreed that cops on standby should have been closer. That was a budget decision. If Vancouver wants to continue to have large celebrations, it will cost (though not as much as a riot). I hope the City does. I hate the idea that we either close down and again become "no fun city," or do what you suggest and have events only with a massive police presence, which probably won't work. And we need somehow to get the great majority of young people instead of gawking to realize and say to compartiots that it's not cool to riot.
is there anyway to get a dictionary to the vancouver police? that way they could look up the word anarchist. even as a wiki definition it's kinda clear:
"Anarchism is a political philosophy which considers the state undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, and instead promotes a stateless society, or anarchy.[1][2] Anarchists seek to diminish or even abolish authority in the conduct of human relations."
i'm pretty sure the hooligans in the streets the other night weren't rallying behind anything near a philosophy or politics. stop demonizing a word that has nothing to do with what happened.
they were thugs, hooligans, spoiled first-world brats, call them anything but anarchists.