More than 200 Vancouver police officers who worked the night of the Stanley Cup riot say more officers should have been deployed for the final game at Rogers Arena between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins.
Of 267 officers who filled out a survey after the June 15 riot, 222 responded that not enough officers were deployed for Game 7. The survey was included in an independent review released Sept. 1 by reviewers John Furlong and Douglas Keefe.
The response is in contrast to what Police Chief Jim Chu, Furlong and Keefe concluded about the number of police deployed that nightmore cops wouldnt have made a difference.
There were too many people, not too few police, said the independent report which disclosed that 928 officers worked the night of the riot. No plausible number of police could have prevented trouble igniting in the kind of congestion we saw on Vancouver streets that night.
The survey doesnt provide an explanation for the officers responses but listed other concerns raised by officers, including 96 who said they didnt feel safe during the riot.
Other responses from officers:
- 44 didnt feel safe prior to the riot.
- 125 didnt have the equipment required for the riot such as helmets, respirators, pepper spray and shields.
- 79 werent able to hear radio communications adequately.
- 92 werent given adequate updates before, during and after the riot.
- 79 were unable to reliably use their cellphones.
- 127 felt the riot became unmanageable.
- 105 said there werent enough police at the so-called live site near the Vancouver Public Library while 82 said there should have been more security guards and 79 said security wasnt effective.
The independent review also included an examination of the events before, during and after the riot by Deputy Chief Charles Bordeleau and Insp. Mark Ford of the Ottawa Police Service. Both are technical experts in policing major events, according to the independent report.
Bordeleau and Ford interviewed senior VPD officers who told them they raised concerns about risks to public safety linked to a large, open venue with a capacity for tens of thousands of hockey fans in one location.
Senior police planners advised city officials to situate any live site outside the downtown core and away from the Granville entertainment district, traditionally a magnet for crowds, alcohol and excessive partying, the officers report said. Supporters argued that measures to limit the size of crowds would strengthen the security planning and reduce the risk of unrest.
The crowd swelled to 155,000 in downtown for the hockey game, with many drunk before the puck was dropped at Rogers Arena. The huge crowd made it impossible for the police to implement its so-called meet and greet strategy, which worked effectively during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
The Ottawa officers report pointed out it was not clear who owned the outdoor event and which agency was ultimately accountable for its execution.
Interviews conducted for this report show that senior officials with several agencies assumed VPD was the lead organization of public events because crowd management was equated with policing, ergo the police service had lead responsibility, their report said. In fact, the City of Vancouver was responsible for the oversight role.
Twitter: @Howellings
