The largest investigation in Vancouver's history has police recommending 60 people be charged with everything from assault to breaking and enter and mischief after last Junes riot in the citys downtown.
Police Chief Jim Chu said Monday that police used a forensic video database to analyze unique characteristics of suspects and are asking the Crown to approve 163 charges against the 60 alleged rioters.
The June 15 riot had police under intense pressure to recommend charges after thousands of people lit fires, burned cars and looted stores following the Vancouver Canucks loss in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup final.
Chu told a news conference that officers needed to spend the last four months on a vigorous investigation to ensure the most serious charges could be laid against those who caused such extensive damage.
"In the minds of many, today has been a long time coming and I share those frustrations," Chu said. "I wish there could have been a quicker and simpler way to bring the rioters before the courts and as tempting as it may have been to some to take those shortcuts, we still believe that we owed it to the victims of the riot and the residents of the community to take the time necessary to build the best cases possible."
Chu outlined recommended charges against three men in their early 20s, including one who saw his picture from the riot posted on Facebook.
Chu said the Vancouver Island man contacted police to apologize for damaging a car and that police interviewed him and were prepared to recommend a charge of mischief.
But Chu said investigators searched for the mans description in the database of a riot video theyd asked the public to download onto a police website and that the computer returned numerous hits showing the suspect damaged six vehicles, including an unmarked police car.
In the second case, Chu said a 21-year-old mans fate "was sealed by DNA collected at the scene."
He said the same suspect was seen on video looting a store while masking his face with his shirt and punching a random victim in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious.
Chu said a third case involved a man whose photo in a newspaper showed him reaching into a broken store window.
The man said he was just touching a dress on a mannequin but never took it, although video showed him running down the street with the stolen garment and tossing it onto a burning fire.
"Based on this video, this suspect will be facing charges for arson, break and enter and participating in a riot."
"This man is known to police and has a previous criminal history of trafficking drugs and crimes of violence," he said of the man who was arrested at his home.
"The people who rampaged that night must be held accountable for their actions, as the (Vancouver Police Department) will be held accountable by the courts for how we investigated their crimes."
An earlier report released on the riot has concluded police were overwhelmed by a massive and largely drunken crowd of people who poured into the downtown core to watch the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins on large TV screens.
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