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Crowd, alcohol factors in riot after Stanley Cup defeat: Analysis

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Crowd, alcohol factors in riot after Stanley Cup defeat: Analysis

VANCOUVER, British Columbia—A report cites faulty estimates of the potential crowd size, poor communications and alcohol as key factors in the Vancouver, British Columbia, riot following the Vancouver Canucks’ defeat in the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup finals.

An estimated 155,000 people gathered in downtown Vancouver that June 15 night—many intoxicated when they arrived—with 446 police officers in addition to the regular patrol assigned to the area, according to the report released Thursday.

Conditions provided opportunity

“The question then is not the cause of the riot—troublemakers deliberately caused it—but the conditions that gave them the opportunity,” according to the report by Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics CEO John Furlong and lawyer Douglas Keefe. “The key ingredients were congestion and free-flowing alcohol.”

The crowd arrived early, according to the report, and its size overwhelmed security checks for alcohol at temporary outdoor venues established to view the game.

The report noted that as the situation deteriorated, the response by police was slowed by communications problems and the location of police riot equipment in congested streets.

The report makes 53 recommendations for such events in the future, including better coordination between government officials, news media, the Canucks and the NHL as well as better control of alcohol consumption and sales.

At least 60 businesses were looted or vandalized during the riot and approximately 150 people were injured.

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