Gastown Riots

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The Gastown Riot, also known as "The Battle of Maple Tree Square," occurred in Vancouver, Canada, on August 7, 1971. Following weeks of arrests by undercover agents in Vancouver as part of a special police operation directed by Mayor Tom Campbell, police attacked a protest demonstration in Gastown against the use of undercover agents and in favour of the legalization of marijuana. Of around one thousand protesters, 79 were arrested and 38 were charged. Tom Campbell later attempted to invoke the War Measures Act against hippies and draft-dodgers.

This demonstration involved a four-foot long false spliff. Police were accused of heavy-handed tactics including indiscriminate beatings with their newly-issued riot batons. They also used, for the first time, horse-backed charges on crowds of onlookers and tourists.

A commission of inquiry into the riot was headed by Supreme Court Justice Thomas Dohm. Police agents who had infiltrated civic groups testified that the entire incident was organized by professional revolutionaries including local poets Richard Rathwell, Michael Boughn and others [citation needed]. Justice Dohm was highly critical of the police's conduct and described the incident as a police riot.[1]