VANCOUVER - Both men appointed to co-chair an independent review into the Stanley Cup riot had their televisions on watching the game that preceded the mayhem, one in the Canucks' hometown of Vancouver, the other in his province of Nova Scotia.
John Furlong, former head of the Vancouver Olympic committee, watched coverage of the ugly aftermath long into the night as rioters looted stores, smashed windows and torched cars in the city's downtown core.
Doug Keefe, a former deputy justice minister from Nova Scotia, promptly snapped his set off as the game ended and went to bed.
Their appointments were announced Tuesday as the British Columbia government looks to the combination of local knowledge and out-of-province perspective to examine the complex details of the melee and prevent it from happening again.
"We're taking a global view and there will be homework assignments at the end of it, no doubt for the (government), for the city and for the police department," Keefe told reporters in a conference call, adding the tight deadline of Aug. 31 will help.
"I hope it will energize and direct their efforts. There's time to do what we have to do and this is the time to do what has to be done."
The final report will be released to the public. The province, the City of Vancouver and Vancouver police have each said they're prepared to co-operate.
The co-chairs and their team expect to consult with technical experts on police operations and crowd management, said the province's solicitor general, Shirley Bond
Bond said her ministry has already begun handing over background material to ensure the work can begin immediately.
Keefe said Vancouver has a fantastic record of holding public events, and he described the recent riot as an exception.
"Obviously, there's a lot of soul-searching going on, but you folks do know how to do this right and it's a question of getting back on the rails," he said.
Keefe is a lawyer and consultant who retired from the Nova Scotia government in 2007 after nearly 30 years in the public service.
He oversaw an inquiry into the Westray Mine disaster in 1992, when a methane explosion killed 26 miners. Keefe also played a major role in supporting Nova Scotia's chief medical examiner after 229 people died in the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Peggy's Cove, N.S., in 1998.
Furlong, as CEO of the Olympic committee, was the face of the last year's Winter Games in Vancouver.
He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada and received the Order of B.C. after working for more than a decade bringing the Games to the city and steering their organization.
Furlong said he believes he was chosen because he managed and executed the largest event ever staged on Canadian soil, which included dealing with massive crowds every day for several weeks.
He recalled a conversation with B.C. Premier Christy Clark last week, when he told her he was prepared to help in any way possible.
The premier took him up on the offer.
"I'm not suggesting that I'm an expert on policing," he said. "I think we will have access to all the expertise we need when it comes to anything like that."
Both men will be paid for their work.
Vancouver police, the city's fire department and the municipal government also have plans for concurrent, internal reviews.
The riot erupted after more than 100,000 people gathered in downtown Vancouver, where three giant outdoor televisions broadcast Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. The Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins.
The riot evolved from bottle throwing to cars being flipped and set ablaze to window smashing and looting of dozens of businesses that suffered an estimated $5 million in damage.
Vancouver police issued a news release Tuesday that 24 people have turned themselves in since the riot, and officers are examining the extent of each individual's involvement.
At least 43 people from several police agencies were assigned to an integrated team investigating the riot. The unit was sorting through thousands of pieces of information and will attempt to match video footage or photographs as supporting evidence to the self-identified perpetrators, the news release said.
The team catalogued 4,000 emails over the weekend, flagging 1,700 that identify potential suspects in 120 separate incidents. Police said the "lengthy and complex" investigation means charges may not be laid for several weeks.
Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu has repeatedly declined to release the number of officers deployed in the area, citing operational and public safety reasons.
But in a message posted on the Delta police website, Chief Jim Cessford said more than 800 officers were in the downtown core. He added those officers were vastly outnumbered by the crowd.
Cessford noted that while questions have been asked about whether police were prepared to handle rioters, forces from surrounding cities worked together to make preparations at the beginning of the playoffs.
"Police showed great restraint and professionalism in dealing with the highly charged crowds and exigent circumstances," he said in his online note. "In many cases, there was no choice but to be aggressive with defiant and intoxicated agitators that were only there to disturb the peace."
Cessford declined to comment further on Tuesday, but acting Sgt. Cal Traversy said his boss wrote the note to show his support for Chu's force. Traversy said the 800 figure referred to the number of officers who made it to the streets by the end of the night.
Neither Keefe nor Furlong would commit to releasing the number of officers deployed when they submit their report, though they expect to learn that figure.
"The real question is the adequacy and the deployment," said Keefe. "It would be wrong to strictly focus on the number."
Keefe and Furlong said they'll focus on whether lessons from a similar riot in 1994 -- the last time the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup final -- were put into practise, and whether plans for this year's final were adequate.
The review will also examine what role alcohol played.
