The independent review into the Stanley Cup riot that erupted downtown June 15 has identified a litany of problems with the Vancouver Police Departments planning for the final hockey game and response to the mayhem that followed.
Among the problems revealed in the review released Thursday was the VPDs failure to anticipate thousands of fans arriving early for Game 7 between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins and adapting to the large crowd which reached 155,000.
For example, the VPDs plan should have required a report on the numbers of people downtown beginning late in the morning and provided options for earlier deployment, said the report authored by John Furlong and Douglas Keefe. The harder it is to predict the scope of an event, the more important it is to be able to adapt.
Once the riot erupted, the VPD and other police forces were delayed in responding to the rioters who set cars ablaze, smashed store windows and looted businesses, the report said. Reasons included a defective VPD radio that prevented the RCMPs 97-member tactical troop from immediately responding to the mayhem, command confusion and police tactical gear located too far from the so-called live sites.
When the police were fully deployed, they were met by a massive crowda crowd that had seen no significant police or security presence all afternoon as many arrived carrying concealed alcohol, said the report, pointing to delays of up to 40 minutes. The slower than normal transition to tactical gear delayed an effective response to riotous behaviour and could possibly have contributed to the start of a riot at Granville and Nelson. We find no fault with any individual commander in this. The cause was the faulty radio.
The report, entitled The Night the City Became a Stadium, listed 53 recommendations, with several directed at the VPDs planning process for major events.
They included:
Early, meaningful consultation with external partners in planning for large events.
Strategies to monitor crowd volumes including passenger loads on public transit and aerial views from police aircraft.
Contingency plans to respond to a need for an earlier than anticipated deployment.
Contingency plans for multiple incidents and multiple locations within an event, followed by table top exercises to test the effectiveness of those plans.
An analysis of equipment needs and equipment compatibility problems, in particular when external police services will be deployed.
A process to replace faulty equipment.
Clear lines of authority and decision making at all times during the event.
The report disclosed the number of officers on duty June 15 began at 446 and reached full deployment at 928. The report concluded a larger police presence wouldnt have prevented the riot.
There were too many people, not too few police, said the report, noting officers from the RCMP and suburban municipalities worked that night. No plausible number of police could have prevented trouble igniting in the kind of congestion we saw on Vancouver streets that night.
The report said police had no intelligence indicating a riot was being planned and concluded there was no political or bureaucratic interference in the VPDs plans for the playoffs.
The mayor does not seem to have played a part in the resource or financial discussion out of deference to the operational control of the force residing with [police] chief, the report said. When we interviewed him, the mayor explained that, in his view, good governance precluded him becoming involved in operational matters.
City council will host a special meeting Tuesday to discuss the independent review and its own internal review. The meeting will precede a Vancouver Police Board meeting to reveal the VPD internal review of the planning for the playoffs and response to the riot.
Furlong and Keefe described the riot as a regional riot and recommended a regional event public safety plan be implemented for future large events.
While we do not see a case for a single regional police force in the facts of June 15, those facts demonstrate the need to formalize regional emergency services collaboration and, more to the point, plan and practise it, the report said.
At a press conference Thursday, Furlong said the riot was caused by thugs and villains and the people who cheered them on, adding that alcohol was free-flowing in downtown leading up to the game.
Alcohol consumption was unbridled and fuelled the event creating unsafe and unpredictable behaviour that led to the riot and significant criminal behaviour, the report said.
The report recommended the attorney generals office establish a process or special court specifically for dealing with the prosecution of people accused of a riot-related criminal act that provides Crown counsel and judges with a suitable range of processes and sentencing options.
The report suggested restorative justice could be an option to consider for the rioters, saying a guilty plea and a fine teaches nothing of the harm thats been done.
First responders, business people, people who took part in the cleanup, perhaps some of the victims, could teach them real lessons a judge can only lecture them about, the report said. Maybe a hockey player could tell them how they shamed the club after a magnificent season.
Police Chief Jim Chu issued a statement Thursday, saying we know in hindsight that some mistakes were made but Im pleased to see the reviewers concluded that none of the mistakes would have made a substantial difference that night. Chu said the department is reviewing the independent reviews recommendations with a view to implementation.
So far, Crown counsel has not approved any charges against suspected rioters but Chu has promised hundreds will be laid in the coming months.
More than 40 people have turned themselves in to police and investigators have more than 1,100 names of suspects believed to have committed crimes during the riot.
The VPDs approach in the investigation is to thoroughly review all images, video and other evidence of the riot before recommending charges. Police want to ensure the Crown doesnt have to prosecute a suspect multiple times, an approach that could result in a lesser penalty.
If were able to assemble collective actions over the whole evening and lay the charge of rioting, that will result in more serious penalties and the judges certainly have to look at previous court decisions, Chu told reporters Tuesday at a press conference to launch a VPD website solely dedicated to capturing suspects in the riot.
As of today, the website had received 100,000 visits with investigators working to confirm names provided for nine of the 40 suspects featured on the website, according to the VPD.
Twitter: @Howellings
