Login / RegisterI sued my deceased dad's wife almost half of his estate. I was awarded a shit ton of money. I gave my mom a portion of it..
VPD releases statement on February 13 Olympic-related violence
A few protesters shattered this window at the Bay.
Stephen Hui
The Vancouver Police Department today released the following statement regarding Olympic-related violence in Downtown Vancouver.
For in-depth coverage of the protest and violience, see Carlito Pablo's, 2010 Heart Attack disrupts Vancouver on day two of Winter Olympics.
Vancouver Police Department News Release - Feb 13, 2010
1:00 p.m.
As Vancouver Police faced protestors once again today they encountered a criminal element within the legitimate protestors.
See also
2010 Heart Attack disrupts Vancouver on day two of Winter Olympics
Photo gallery: Anti-Olympic protesters unleash 2010 Heart Attack on Vancouver
Police bring out heavy-duty weapons for Vancouver Olympic protest on day two
VPD releases statement on February 13 Olympic-related violence
The criminal element apparently willing to wield anything that might cause damage or injury marched among about 200 legitimate protestors this morning beginning at 8:30 a.m. They walked down Georgia Street breaking windows, turning over news boxes and clashing with police.
This group contained more than 100 masked people many of whom kicked and damage numerous parked cars. They used spray paint on cars and transit buses and tore down signs.
They also clashed with members of the public and pedestrians who didn't support them. At one point they used a ladder as a moving barricade.
The demonstration involving a number of anarchists some of whom dress all in black and employ a tactic called Black Bloc. This included a loosely organized group of thugs from central Canada known to attach themselves to any cause, travel to any event that attracts media coverage and promote anarchy wherever they go.
Because the criminal element hid within the ranks of the legitimate protestors it posed challenges to police who had to identify who among the crowd were responsible for the property damage and violence.
Vancouver Police respect the rights of those who wish to express their criticism but that does not give them right to commit crimes and jeopardize the public's safety.
As this group began to escalate their violence and vandalism Vancouver Police increased their presence along Georgia Street to preserve public safety. Members of the Integrated Security Unit also joined the effort to restore the peace. Members of the VPD Crowd Control Unit also participated.
Once the violence began, specifically as some in the group smashed windows at the Bay department store, the bulk of the crowd drifted away distancing themselves from the criminal element.
Part of the group's confrontational strategy is to provoke police. Some of the masked criminals were carrying vinegar soaked rags and goggles fully anticipating that they could provoke police into using tear gas. To further bait police they spat on officers, kicked at them and taunted them.
The Vancouver Police Department has always employed a strategy of cooperation and non-confrontation with protests groups in the hope of facilitating peaceful and safe events. On average the VPD safely facilitates about 175 protests in the city every year.
Police are aware that they must always balance the rights of free speech and protest with the rights of the public to safely and freely enjoy the city.
By noon, police had been able to disperse the vandals into smaller pockets and greatly reduce the threat to the public safety.
Seven suspects were arrested and charges of mischief are pending. A bag with a hammer was recovered. One suspect had a bicycle chain wrapped around his fist when he was arrested.
What has happened to Vancouver? Is it all one big PR firm?
When did "Serve and protect the people" Turn into "Serve and protect the corporations and those addicted to the greed those corporations release"?
I'm not totally thrilled with the idea of the games being held in Vancouver and how corporate the Olympics have become, but do I need to trash public (and private) property and threaten bystanders about it? No. Does that kind of behaviour solve anything? No. The only people this behaviour really affects are the locals, and we've already got enough going on without having to worry about fools who are too cowardly to even show their face while "protesting" destroying our property and making our streets unsafe.
These morons need to grow the hell up and, in my humble opinion, should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
Anyone who has a cause to protest for must recognize what they DO NOT stand for, and pre-emptively separate from these goons. Let's see how fun intimidation is when they're standing all alone
reg, you don't need to spend money to enjoy the Olympics. Just visit one of the free Live City sites.
Please allow these protestors to come protest outside Gate 9 at the garage after a team Canada game. I'm guessing that even with 200 of their friends they won't be feeling so tough.
My prediction is unless proponents take on a more inclusive role to involve more of the public and stakeholders, their issues will largely be confined to the fringes and professional protesters, and as a resident of East Vancouver, it's a shame. These issues are important, and unless the protesters stop saying things like "olympics r 4 pigs" (stereotype much?), their message will be brushed off as the rantings of an unreasonable few.
Your easily molded mind has taken what you have been told and formed a misguided opinion out of fear. Don't worry its common as you can see on this board.
Yes lets use this "opportunity" to lump all people who are against the games together into a group that smashed some windows.
And how exactly are you drawing that correlation?
A telling litmus test for telling how out of it our Vancouver yuppies really are.
You can deploy as many paid posters as you want but you cannot manufacture the real truth which you so desperately deny and suppress.
A FACT would be that 5-10 arrests out of thousands means you are wrong in your generalization.
A few of theme feel justified, in view of the almost inconceivable crimes committed routinely by our government, institutions, and society against millions of people both at home and around the world, to try to draw attention to the apalling dishonesty and hypocrisy of our mainstream social dialogue. The way they have chosen to do this is by expressing their utter contempt for this veneer of civility which is primarily a cultivated reverence for private property, privilege and the power of the tiny elite.
The mentally servile masses are trained like seals using the reward of petty pleasures like witnessing exploited athletes on TV, and petty, meaningless ceremonies like "torch runs" representing nothing but the hypocrisy of the governments and corporations. In the conditioned minds of these mental minions the destruction of private property belonging to sociopathic corporations is the ultimate evil, whereas torturing, murdering and imprisoning people for being in the way of the grand chessboard agenda of the invisible elite is something to cheer about and defend.
Let's honor these rough hewn hooligan heroes for the gold medals they hold in their hearts, for though they generally possess little assets or education, and know of no way to express themselves more eloquently than a few broken windows, thrown bags of paint, and overturned newspaper boxes, if our society refuses to take honest moral stock of its behavior, and closes its heart to the plight of large numbers of people for whom it ought to be lovingly responsible, then the people least constrained by social conventions will inevitably become the outlet for the messages from within that we constantly suppress and drown out with our crassly self serving social dialectic. That you learn from social systems theory. In an interwoven society, energy and information suppressed must find an outlet. If not a wholesome one, then a more troubled and messy one.
The actions that these protesters committed were against private property. The corporations they attacked are not accountable to the public, and are revered by the public simply because they tell you they should be. You are listening to their advertisements and not even considering why they could have been attacked.
I appreciate the tourists, the athletes, the media, but how callous the world seems to be to speaking AGAINST a democracy? The only way a democracy can be represented is if you CAN SPEAK AGAINST IT.
In Seattle, I think two or three windows were broken. I remember going to look at the Radio Shack in the evening when the curfew was in place. The windows were gone, the shop was open, and not a thing was stolen as far as I could see. There was NO looting, even though the street had been FULL of protestors the entire day. When the anarchists were running around on the morning of the first day doing the same thing they did in Vancouver, turning over boxes and spray painting a few walls, one came up to me and asked what I had in my hand. It was a brass miner's lamp. I told him what it was - a World Peace Flame. He told me that it would make a good projectile. I said yes, but I would rather use it as a World Peace Flame. So he said ok and took off. Not once in three entire days and nights of street protesting in Seattle did I ever witness or hear of a single protestor, including the Black Bloc, ever threaten or harm another protestor or police. The police, on the other hand, constantly attacked people for no reason in many different ways - from rubber bullets, to running over them with vehicles, to pushing, beating, tear gassing them and lying to them in order to arrest them.
I don't share the opinions of the Black Bloc about how to accomplish social betterment, but I do appreciate their general good will and respect for others. There are probably exceptions, where in the heat of the moment one or two anarchists might argue with someone, but I doubt they are a physical threat to anyone. The police, on the other hand, can be seen in one of the videos kicking the head of a protestor who was on the ground with his boot. This could cause death or serious injury to someone. The police are constantly shooting, beating, and tasering people, even killing them for no reason, but the brainwashed neocons still worship the state, which is owned by the corporations, and its paid thugs - the police, private security companies, mercenary armies and military. But if a protester even allegedly hurts the feelings of someone, then the brainwashed hypocritical corporation worshippers take a fit, and call for the protestors to be beaten, jailed, kicked out of the country, etc. What happened to consistency in the application of standards of behavior?
The police and military are given incredible latitude in the use of force. I think that they should be held to a much higher standard of discipline and respect for the law and rights of the citizen than even the average citizen. The protestors have no real weapons, but the police have combat training, shields, helmets, visors, gas masks, pads, guns, clubs, mace, tasers, revolvers, shotguns and assault rifles - all of which can do serious damage or kill if not used with discretion.