Vancouver police lost control before the puck dropped, riot report finds

Although 42 people turned themselves in and hundreds have been identified, police have made no arrests after riots in Vancouver following the Stanley Cup finals.

Although 42 people turned themselves in and hundreds have been identified, police have made no arrests after riots in Vancouver following the Stanley Cup finals.

Vancouver police were overwhelmed and underprepared the night of the Stanley Cup final and lost control of the crowds before the game even began, a report has found.

But the independent review, released Thursday, also said that no number of officers would have been enough to stop the thousands of young, drunk fans from rioting.

Former VANOC chief John Furlong, one of the co-chairs of the review, said despite the police response that night, blame for the riot falls on “thugs and villains and people who cheered them on.” He added that police and other officials made heroic efforts to contain the riot.

“We believe then and we believe today that lynching is not the appropriate response to a riot,” wrote authors Furlong and the other co-chair, lawyer Douglas Keefe. “But we do assign blame. We blame the people who started the riot.”

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