Friday, January 20, 2012

Court orders Vancouver newspapers to produce riot videos and photos

The Vancouver Sun and Province will hand over all photos and video shot during the Stanley Cup riot to Vancouver police after a judge granted a police application, but the newspapers have decided to make every image available to readers first.
Nearly 5,500 photos taken during the riot can be viewed at pngphoto.com. These same images will be given to police on Monday as ordered by the court.

"We will reluctantly turn over the photos and videos to police, but remain concerned that the production order turns journalists into evidence gatherers for police," Sun deputy managing editor Harold Munro said. "Police should only make such demands on the media as a last resort," he said. "In this case, they have many thousands of photos and videos from the public that are still being reviewed."

On Dec. 16, a B.C. Supreme Court judge quashed an earlier production order because of errors made in the application by the Vancouver Police Department. A new, corrected application was granted by a judge on Dec. 21. The riot erupted after the Vancouver Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final to the Boston Bruins. Rioters set cars on fire, smashed windows and looted stores in downtown Vancouver, causing millions of dollars in damages.

As of Tuesday, police have recommended charges against 100 people.

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