"INVITATION TO A RIOT" - The Stanley Cup Riot 1994

I tripped over this video on the internet recently. I hadn't thought about the riot for a long time - and watching the video recorded by Darrell Patton brought back a rush of memories.

Police officers will tell you that we are paid for what we might have to do rather than what we do during our ten or twelve hour shift. We might spend ten or twelve hours just driving in circles, looking for drunk drivers and taking break and enter reports. We might get assigned to investigate a sexual assault or a bank robbery in progress. In our job there is no such thing as routine. We never know what challenge we are going to be faced with when we answer the next radio call - or drive down a dark alley.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a police officer in the middle of a riot? Well, grab a coffee, turn up the sound and watch the video. You will see how fast a mob develops into a nightmare.

It was Stanley Cup playoffs. The Vancouver Canucks had made it to the final game. The city was in major party mode.

I had been re-assigned from my regular duties that day. I was to be part of the arrest team for the Crowd Control Unit (CCU). CCU is the team that wears the riot gear. They are the front line when there is potential for a crowd to become unruly. We were the handful of officers in the line behind the CCU. Our job was to arrest and hold anyone who was trying to incite a riot or committing a criminal offence.

Our squad were the few lucky officers issued gas masks and helmets at the beginning of our tour of duty. I don't think any of us thought those masks would be anything more than a nuisance to carry around when we set out that night. Wrong!

Our first assignment was to attend the local fair grounds to assess the crowd. We arrived just as a car was being flipped over onto its roof. I think at that point every one of us realized it was going to be a rough shift.

We returned to the heart of downtown Vancouver. We were ordered to stay out of site underground, until we were called out for back up. It wasn't many minutes before it was apparent that all hell was breaking loose up above - and we were at a dead run up the stairs and out onto the street, smack into the middle of the fray.

As soon as our squad hit the street we realized gas had been deployed and we dodged into doorways to get into those (nuisance) gas masks. Boy were we glad we had them! The smoke from the gas was making it impossible to see each other and we soon found ourselves completely separated from the squad and on our own. We could hear police officers yelling into their radios for backup. It sounded like shots being fired and we were convinced the police were being overwhelmed and taken down by the mob. We didn't know where the shouts for assistance were coming from, and we couldn't get to them. It was quite terrifying.

We eventually caught up with the CCU and took up our position behind their line. The remainder of the night was spent trying to avoid being hit with chunks of cement, bottles, rocks and hubcaps that were being thrown at us from every angle. The officer next to me collapsed when "something" that was thrown by some idiot on the sidelines smashed into her knee. Eventually an ambulance was able to get through the mob and take her to Emergency.

In my 25 years working the streets of Vancouver it was the only time I ever thought I might not make it home. I will never forget the absolute madness in the collective faces of that mob. I have never felt so small and insignificant.

When it was over the streets looked like a war zone. We were exhausted and so ashamed that people who are privileged to live in our beautiful city could behave in such an insane way.

To watch the video just click here and it will open. Crank your sound up so you get an idea of the noise associated. The video is long, so you'll want to enjoy that hot coffee while you get a bird's eye view of one day on the job where we really earned that paycheque.