(This
column was published in the North
Shore News on
Dec. 16, 1998)
Police did good job in tough situation
By Leo Knight
IN
the hotbed of left-wing lunacy otherwise known as Commercial
Drive in Vancouver, the posters called the comrades to arms.
"Riot
at the Hyatt," they screamed, extolling the clueless to
join the mindless and attack the police at a fund-raising dinner
for the federal Liberals the next night.
Vancouver
police were caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place
as a result.
From
the original position of having to use some extra manpower to
ensure the ubiquitous noisemakers were kept in line, they now
had to consider protecting the prime minister against a violent
confrontation.
In
more normal times, the prime minister breezes in and out of town
with barely a notice. Often it doesn't even rate a mention among
the top stories of the day.
The
PM would get an escort of a few police officers along with his
regular bodyguards and maybe even a couple of motorcycle
outriders -- maybe.
With
the fresh scalps of a cabinet minister and complaints commission
chairman on their belt, the lunatic fringe has been given an
inordinate amount of credibility.
Fair
enough, I suppose, the way the prime minister's staff have
rumbled, bumbled and stumbled their way through an amateurish
cover-up.
It
could be argued that the spin machine of the PMO has been bested
by the bleached out, bestudded, wunderkind called Garth Mullins
and his partner Alyssa Westergard-Smith.
I
say partner because I called her his girlfriend once in a
national TV interview and got scorched, off-camera, with a blast
of fanatic feminist rhetoric. Ouch!
I
watched the goings-on at the Hyatt very closely. It was obvious
from the outset that the police were going to be challenged. It
was equally obvious the spin machine would be in full gear in
the aftermath to ensure the police were on the hot seat for
whatever the protesters could make happen.
In
a CBC radio interview the morning before the Hyatt protest, I
stated something was going to happen in which the police lines
would be challenged.
Mullins,
speaking on the same show, stated it would be a peaceful
protest. He complained about being "penned off" by the
police in a designated area where the protest would be allowed.
Indicating
he and his crew had been in discussions with the police, he was
whining about what they were suggesting for parameters.
He
was later to publicly complain, again on CBC radio, that there
was no communication from the police and that was the reason for
the violence.
As
usual he can't let the truth get in the way of a good spin.
This
guy could be NDP cabinet material.
Because,
by definition, confrontation is news, the media have been all
over the incident. Fortunately an analysis of the video shows
clearly what happened last Tuesday at the Hyatt Hotel.
A
small group of the protesting crowd had planned to probe the
police lines and force the cops to spread themselves thin with
diversionary attacks at various entry points to the hotel.
While
the police were dealing with these skirmishes, which took place
mainly on the Melville Street side of the hotel and out of the
view of most of the media in attendance, the main group set
themselves up to hit the police line right in the front of the
hotel where the majority of the media were positioned.
The
visible police line was "soft hat." In other words, in
everyday uniform, no special riot gear. But they had been
stretched by the diversionary probes on Melville street.
A
small group of about 10 or 12 hit the security lines on cue at
exactly the same point, easily breaking through into the
breezeway area outside the main entrance to the hotel.
They
were intent on getting inside to wreak whatever havoc they
could. Fortunately, they are idiots and the police aren't.
Now,
let's bear in mind the prime minister was inside that hotel
along with a couple of cabinet ministers. Not to mention several
hundred paying guests in that ballroom with the PM as well as
the other hotel guests.
All
politics aside, it is the responsibility of the police to
protect our leaders. As a society, we demand it.
No
one can accuse me of being a Chretien apologist or, indeed, a
shill for the federal Liberals. But Chretien is the Prime
Minister and his office requires the appropriate respect be
accorded.
This
includes not being accosted by violent, so-called protesters
with God knows what on their mind.
Back
to the breezeway.
With
a half dozen of these lunatics behind the police lines and the
others being wrestled to the ground by officers on the line, the
fully geared up riot squad was mobilized from its position
inside the hotel lobby.
Its
members formed a line protecting the entrance to the hotel and
moved forward to support the main police line on the sidewalk
which had been breached.
As
they moved forward, they banged their 36-inch batons on their
shields in unison.
Now,
for all those who have somehow interpreted this as a sign that
the police were spoiling for a fight, this intimidating tactic
has been taught in crowd control training since the early '70s
at least.
It
is meant to be intimidating. It is meant to show the crowd they
mean business. It is meant to stop the confrontation before
violence occurs.
Once
at the line, the riot troops pushed back the crowd to regain the
security of the protection zone.
The
skirmishes that occurred at that point were with protesters who
refused to move back or who physically attacked the police.
Any
suggestion that the police waded into the crowd and struck
people over the head willy-nilly is pure fantasy.
The
National Post ran a photo the next morning that told the
truth about those few moments.
A
police officer, PC 1878, having already lost his hat, is getting
his fluorescent vest ripped off him while two other protesters
are pointing and screaming at the other officers on the line.
Another officer has his arms up defensively in front of him and
the one beside him is ducking down to avoid something thrown.
Controlling
an unruly mob is a frightening and difficult task.
Last week, despite what Mullins and the rest of the International Socialists (their group) says, the Vancouver Police did a stalwart job.