As Vancouver Police revealed details Monday of the first charges following last week’s Stanley Cup riot, the B.C. government laid out how an independent review of the riot could help prevent a repeat of the violent rampage in future.
The review will look at how police dealt with the alcohol-fuelled crowds June 15 and whether the lessons of the 1994 Stanley Cup riot were adequately heeded.
Mayor Gregor Robertson said “everyone wants to understand how this riot happened, ask the tough questions about it and move forward because we want to keep having these big gatherings downtown,” he said.
Criminal charges have now been laid or recommended against six people, with others expected to follow, Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu said Monday.
And while Chu praised the progress of th newly-formed Integrated Riot Investigation Team, police also warned about vigilante justice fuelled by the social media sites highlighting videos and photos of rioters.
“In the ensuing high state of emotions following the recent hockey riot, there is a growing danger that the tools of social media will be used to mete out vigilante justice,” the VPD said. “The Vancouver Police Department and its integrated investigation team are asking the public to resist the temptation to take justice into their own hands. We ask for your patience and continued shows of responsible good citizenry as the investigation unfolds.”
Two men have been charged in relation to a stabbing during the riot. Burnaby resident Edgar Ricardo Garcia, 20, is charged with aggravated assault after two men were stabbed in 700-block of Hornby that night. And 27-year-old Calgary resident Joshua Lyle Evans has been charged with possessing a weapon dangerous to the public peace in the same incident.
Charges have also been recommended against another six people, ranging from mischief and participation in a riot to assaulting a police officer. None of the suspects have criminal histories.
Among the others expected to go to court for their riot conduct are a young Ladner man accused of vandalizing a green pick-up truck, a 19-year-old who allegedly stole a Coach purse from the Bay and 17-year-old Nathan Kotylak for allegedly lighting a police car on fire.
About 12 suspects have turned themselves in so far in part because of the widespread circulation of riot images and because of collective post-riot guilt.
Chu urged others to follow suit.
“If you come in voluntarily you can do so discreetly and at a time that is convenient for you,” he said. “If you wait until we find you – and we will find you – we will arrest you in a public manner suitable to the public crimes you have committed.”
Chu said the investigation has confirmed what police initially said – that anarchists and criminals started the trouble – though others without criminal histories soon joined in.
“Based on the best information we had the following morning, we stated that the instigators among the mob were ‘criminals, anarchists and thugs who came to town bent on destruction and mayhem’ regardless of the outcome of the game,” Chu said.
“While we are still standing by that observation about the instigators, we are learning that most of the people that joined in the riot and that have now been charged represent a wider spectrum of young people, many of whom do not have criminal records.”
