Brutality Canada Police Brutality O Canada

Hundreds trash Edmonton street after bars close; police arrest 20

Tuesday July 03, 2001
BOB WEBER

EDMONTON (CP) - Business owners along a trendy bar and boutique strip were sweeping up glass and shaking their heads Monday after Canada Day celebrations degenerated into a drunken riot.

"Everybody got wasted for Canada Day and the celebrations turned ugly," said one young man on the scene. "We're celebrating Canada Day but we're destroying our city," added Mark Krebs, who found himself in the thick of the rampage. "It doesn't make any sense."

Problems began as hundreds of young people poured onto Whyte Avenue as bars were closing early Monday, but police said they estimate only about 20 people were actually responsible for broken windows and vandalized property.

Concern has been growing for some time about the sometimes rowdy crowds along the popular strip which constitutes the main drag on Edmonton's south side.

The avenue's sidewalks are always full on weekend nights, but the crowds were even larger than usual because of Canada Day fireworks staged a few blocks away over the river valley.

Cars and people were lined up for blocks to get into the area, said Mark Humeny, a bar manager who lives in the area.

"It was bad over there," he said. "I stayed at home. It was just chaotic."

The trouble began around 2 a.m. as bar patrons spilled out onto the street to watch a fight. When police responded the crowd quickly swelled to up to 1,200 people, said Wes Bellmore, spokesman for the Edmonton Police Service.

"They ignored demands to disperse and eventually started throwing rocks, bottles, golf balls and chunks of concrete at the officers," he said. "It was a riot. There was looting. There was smashed windows. We had to call in a total of 95 officers."

More than 30 businesses were damaged. Twenty people were arrested. No one was seriously injured, although two people were reportedly taken to hospital.

Four officers also received minor injuries.

Mayor Bill Smith said he was "disappointed and shocked by Edmontonians that would do this. This is not the type of city we have."

The mayor said the riot was embarrassing, especially with several world-class sporting events coming to the city later in the summer.

"It's really a black mark on our city. We're going to have to have more police on the street here. It's obviously a hot spot and perhaps this is a bit of a warning."

Damage was estimated to be at least in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Brian Feist, a supervisor with Edmonton's ambulance service, said he just couldn't believe how quickly things got out of hand.

"I've seen nothing like this in Edmonton. This is one of a kind."

Police eventually dispersed the crowd using pepper spray.

Overturned phone booths, smashed bus shelters and shattered bottles still scarred the street Monday morning.

Plywood covered spiderwebbed windows as glaziers fixed the damage.

"It's so disappointing," said Wendy Suggitt, co-owner of Plush Skateboard and Snowboards.

Her front window was broken and its contents stolen.

"I guess I'm not surprised," she said. "There has been a lot of talk about problems here."

Steven Lee, owner of Benny's Bagels, figures it'll cost thousands to repair his restaurant's shattered windows and door.

"It shocks me, that's for sure. Usually, it's pretty secure down here."

The riot may be a sign of the times for Whyte Avenue, said Susan Sabey, who's lived in the neighbourhood for 10 years.

"It's getting more congested. It's getting busier."

Locals often find themselves picking bottles and litter off their lawns and sidewalks after a weekend night, she says. She sleeps with earplugs.

But Monday morning's riot was a new low.

"I'm just saddened by it," she says. "I don't know what to do."

Limiting seating at bars and restricting their opening hours have been proposed in the past, but Suggitt refused to blame the bar owners.

"I can understand the owners of the bars," she said. "I really don't know what to do."

Some have proposed even longer opening hours to avoid a sudden early-morning flush of drunks on the street - especially as Edmonton prepares to host the world championships in athletics in August.

Smith said he will ask the province to tighten opening hours.

"We can't take the chance that this will happen again," he said.

Both Lee and Suggitt maintain that Whyte Avenue remains a good place to do business.

"It's a very good location and we're happy with it here," Suggitt said.

As workers replaced glass up and down the street, one young woman walked down the sidewalk slowly waving a Canadian flag.

"Happy healing Canada Day," she said.

Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law.

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This page created July 8, 2001