Over 800 officers deployed downtown for riot

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Over 800 officers deployed downtown for riot
According to Delta Police Chief
Dan Burritt Jun 28, 2011 07:58:44 AM
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DELTA (NEWS1130) - At least one local police chief is saying how many officers were in downtown Vancouver during the Stanley Cup riot two weeks ago.

Delta Police Chief Jim Cessford claims over 800 police officers were deployed downtown, but they were "easily outnumbered by the vast crowd" of over 100,000 people.  He released the number in a statement on his department's website.

Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu has repeatedly refused to say how many cops were downtown, claiming it's a security issue.  Even Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, who is chair of the police board, has said Chief Chu wouldn't reveal the number to him.

Chief Cessford explains police from around Metro Vancouver worked together to try to handle the riot and solid mobilization plans were developed to make sure they could respond to any other problems on the Lower Mainland.

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Message from Delta Police Chief Constable Jim Cessford

After a strong season and great success throughout the playoffs, the Vancouver Canucks game seven loss was disappointing for all of us. Unfortunately it is not the successful season and spirit of competition that will remain in our memory, rather the events that took place in downtown Vancouver after the final game ended.

As the city comes to terms with the riots that destroyed property and severely injured many, questions are being asked about whether police were prepared to handle such a situation. Police in fact began preparing for such an event at the beginning of the playoffs. Agencies from around Metro Vancouver and RCMP detachments worked together throughout the entire duration of the post-season to ensure people had the opportunity to celebrate and support the Canucks in a safe environment. All agencies involved had distinct operational plans for each of the 25 games the Canucks played. After each game, the plans were reviewed and altered based on lessons learned from the previous event. Every operational plan across the region contained provisions to ensure assistance to other agencies if necessary.

When it became apparent the Canucks would likely make it to the final round, Police Executive from Vancouver, Abbotsford, New Westminster, West Vancouver, Port Moody, Delta and the RCMP began developing a regional approach to ensuring public safety. Similar to security around the 2010 Winter Games, all agencies participated in a multi-level command structure that included a regional operations centre in Vancouver, local operations centre and site command at those venues that saw regular celebrations. Police around the region communicated local situations to each other as games concluded and it was agreed that no agency would "stand down" until all municipalities were safe. Sophisticated mobilization plans were developed to ensure quick response to any unsafe situation anywhere in the region.

This mobilization plan was activated for Game Seven of the final round when crowds of over 100,000 people flooded into the downtown core. Police attempted to mitigate issues early on, however the Canucks loss set into motion a number of events that in a short period of time, escalated to extremely dangerous levels. It appears that a small number of individuals were determined to cause havoc in the city and they were successful in doing so.

Even with over 800 police officers deployed to the downtown core, they were easily outnumbered by the vast crowd. There were numerous reports of stabbings, lootings, injuries and dangerous car fires and police were responding to the most serious situations in order to reduce the impact of the rioting. Police showed great restraint and professionalism in dealing with the highly charged crowds and exigent circumstances. In many cases, there was no choice but to be aggressive with defiant and intoxicated agitators that were only there to disturb the peace.

I know I can say on behalf of the other police chiefs that I am proud of the response by police officers from across the region. Regardless of uniform, we worked together in our greatest efforts to restore order in what can only be described as chaos.

Jim Cessford
Chief Constable
Delta Police Department

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Smoke surrounds The Bay in downtown Vancouver
http://deltapolice.ca/
http://vancouver.ca/police/
http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/mayorcouncil/mayorrobertson.htm