The Vancouver Police Department is blanketing the Lower Mainland with pictures of suspects from the Stanley Cup riot.
A total of 35,000 posters will be distributed over a 12-hour period with more than 150 volunteers handing them out. The posters feature 104 people who have not been identified. Thirty-five new suspect pictures have appeared on the VPD’s riot website since Wednesday.
“In the history of the VPD we have never done what we are doing today,” police chief Jim Chu said in a written statement.
“A team of 150 volunteers is blanketing our region. They are standing outside of colleges, shopping malls and … the stores that were the victims that night.”
Chu said it’s hoped people will share the posters with others or post them in high-traffic areas.
“If all goes well we hope that more than 100,000 people will eventually see this poster either in person or online,” he said.
“We need as many people as possible to help us identify the rioters in these pictures. We understand that for many residents it seems like the riot was a long time ago, but for the members of the VPD and the victims of that night, it might as well have been yesterday.”
Last month, police recommended the first 163 charges against 60 alleged looters and vandals. A total of 118 people have been arrested or turned themselves in. Police say between 500 and 700 people will likely face charges by the time the investigation is concluded.
