Thursday, June 16, 2011

Riots erupt in Vancouver after Stanley Cup loss

Gallery: Riots erupt in Vancouver after Stanley Cup loss

Whether you like it or not, THIS is what happens when there aren't enough police officers on hand cracking skulls and dispersing the crowd.

I wonder when the first outcry of police brutality will surface...

4 comments:

  1. Everyone is talking about how it was only a handful of people rioting last night but when I watch the videos I see thousands.
    The truth is, if everyone who was standing around watching had simply gone home the people doing the burning and looting would not have had an audience. A riot involving only a handful of agitators is very easy to quell.
    This is the second time Vancouver has rioted after losing a Stanley Cup game. I think they would have rioted even if the Canucks had won.

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  2. I wonder how many people will suffer because of the actions of the thugs that were doing the smashing and burning. How many cops were needed that were tied up with this crap. Strange how the pictures seem the same here as elsewhere in the world.

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  3. My thoughts.

    First, I think the police did a relatively good job, all things being considered.

    I was at game 2, and it was an major effort for my wife and I to get through the crowds, so saying people should have just left the scene is easier said than done.

    So - the police holding back for a time, before exerting authority was, I think, the right call. We want perfection - but we're not going to get it. The losers will be found out and prosecuted - and then it will be up to the Judges to meet out punishment - which they likely will not. We're all about punishing drunk drivers, and wife-beaters and the like - but god forbid we put the legal boots to anarchists who undermine our rights of free assembly.

    But - on the other hand, you are right.

    Even with the restraint they showed, we are still going to hear from the Jack Layton crowd about isolated allegations of brutality.

    My comment?

    In that sort of scene, the police are, more or less, at war. And deserve more than the benefit of the doubt.

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  4. Amusingly enough, Jack's crowd had a front row seat to it.

    The only thing different between last night and last summer was that the Province of Ontario gave more power to the police. That and there was much less lead in, so they couldn't plan an over-response. I wonder how much the policing bill will be for this riot, and how it compares.

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