VANCOUVER – Police said they have already received an “overwhelming” public response soon after posters of suspected Stanley Cup rioters were handed out on Wednesday.
Earlier in the morning, Vancouver police flooded Metro Vancouver with a new glossy poster with mug shots of 104 suspected rioters taken on the night of the hockey final. The Integrated Riot Investigation Team said 150 civilian volunteers and more than 50 officers then set out to distribute 35,000 posters over 12 hours in a one-day blitz to colleges, shopping malls, high schools, busy transportation hubs and stores that were victimized that night.
“The 35,000 posters our army of volunteers have been handing out have already had a major impact,” said Sgt. Howard Chow of the Integrated Riot Investigation Team last night. “We’ve been receiving tips all afternoon regarding the photos in the poster.”
Chief Jim Chu said tips from the public identifying suspects posted to a special website have slowed down. The poster is intended to draw attention to the clear images of the people who were photographed or filmed breaking the law on June 15.
Police have good photos of them but need the public’s help in identifying the suspects, mostly men.
Chow also said 35 new photos have been added to the website riot2011.vpd.ca.
Police have arrested 118 suspects and have recommended 163 charges against 60 people.
“We care about what happened to the victims and we care about what happened to the reputation of our city,” said Chu. “We want as many rioters as possible to be held accountable for the terror, damage and carnage they inflicted on others the night of the riot.
“We want to bring as many rioters as possible before the courts to face our justice system,” he said.
Insp. Les Yeo said police have enough evidence against the 104 people pictured on the poster to recommend charges against them. He wouldn’t speculate on how many suspects police will eventually recommend charges against.
Police said they continue to arrest suspected rioters almost every day, at their homes, schools and workplaces.
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