March 28, 2024

Jail time warranted for rioters: Chief Chu

VANCOUVER – He stands 6-7 in uniform, but his imposing stature made Const. Mike Laurin a target when civility descended into chaos the night of the Stanley Cup riot.

The officer was stationed on a corner, guarding a business with a few of his colleagues, when a brick came flying through the air, whizzed past a yellow sign and slammed into his skull.

As Laurin staggered about, howls grew louder among the mob of about 100 people wreaking havoc in that corner of downtown Vancouver.

“We’re going to be making a concerted effort to find who threw that brick,” Vancouver police Chief Jim Chu vowed Wednesday, while speaking to the Vancouver Board of Trade.

Chu showed video of the violent scene in his first public appearance since some of those charged with participating in last June’s mayhem began facing a judge.

A police spokesman later said it was one of the most serious known injuries suffered that night. Laurin had to leave the job for several months to recover, said Sgt. Howard Chow.

Photos taken immediately after the attack, shown by Chu at the presentation, reveal a red and swollen-eyed Laurin with dried blood and scabs forming on his face.

Police will make a public appeal for assistance in the case when they release more details at a future date, said Chow. He said potential charges against a suspect could include assault with a weapon or assault causing bodily harm.

Since the riot, some 300 grab-and-go bags, holding helmets and other protective gear, have been purchased to be used by officers pulled from patrol in emergency situations.

They cost about $ 300,000, money raised by the Vancouver Police Foundation, that wasn’t otherwise available in the force’s budget.

Only about 150 of hundreds of officers were donning actual riot gear that night, Chu said.

That kind of violence and the trashing of the city have kept investigators rapt and the chief on his toes since last summer, answering criticism about why it’s taken so long to get justice.

Chu is stepping back as the courts begin churning through cases his force has spent months building, but said he hopes they mete out punishment accordingly.

“We’d like the courts to treat these very seriously,” Chu told reporters after his speech, adding he recognizes that every case is different and so are past histories of those accused.

“There may be some cases where something less than jail time is appropriate. I’ll leave that up to the judges.”

The first person pleaded guilty to participating in a riot last week, and three more suspects faced charges in provincial court on Wednesday afternoon.

Ryan Dickinson, 20, from Coquitlam, B.C., will return to court next month for a pre-sentence hearing. Those in court on Wednesday had dates set for arraignment hearings later this month and next.

Chu said despite the investigation’s pace he believes the attention on suspects levied by the press and social media will work as a future deterrent.

He said the investigation hasn’t been perfect but wouldn’t point to any specific mistakes the force has made.

“When the courts come out with certain rulings and they interpret something differently than maybe we’ve interpreted it, then maybe I’ll have a comment then,” he said.

“But we haven’t had a trial yet, we’re trying to assemble very strong cases to encourage guilty pleas and that will save a lot of court time.”

A decision by the B.C. Court of Appeal in the early 1990s that handed jail time to a man guilty of rioting set a precedent that should be used in some of these cases, Chu said.

He also reiterated his disappointment that one man who went to court on a lesser charge in Surrey, B.C., after the riot wasn’t punished.

The case of Karanvir Saran was rushed, said Chu, resulting in an absolute discharge, even after he pleaded guilty to possessing stolen clothing.

So far, 30 people have been charged in relation to the bedlam.

Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver

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