VANCOUVER - A woman who bit a police officer and a teen who attacked a man trying to prevent vandalism during last spring's Stanley Cup riot are among those who the Vancouver Police say should be charged in the melee.
Insp. Les Yeo told a news conference Monday that police have passed on the second round of charge recommendations to the Crown. They include 52 offences against 20 people.
This brings to 215 the number of charges that have been recommended against about 80 suspects.
"My message to rioters who think they have gotten away with their crime spree: 'We're not backing off. More arrests and more charges are just around the corner,"' Yeo said.
So far, 27 people have been charged with participating in a riot, along with a mix of other charges that include arson, break and enter, assault and mischief. Their court appearances began last week.
Police says hundreds of people will eventually be charged in the June 15 riot, which followed the Vancouver Canucks' loss to the Boston Bruins in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup final.
Among the charge recommendations are those against a 17-year-old Surrey woman, who police say refused to abide by efforts to keep the rioting crowd at bay while paramedics treated an injured man.
When officers were trying to arrest the woman, she kicked one in the leg and punched another in the face, police said. When another officer came to help, she bit down hard on the officer's arm, breaking the skin.
Police said she is known to them.
Charges against a 19-year-old man from Surrey are also being recommended after rioters kicked and punched a Good Samaritan. The victim had positioned himself between the crowd and windows of a large department store in an attempt to prevent them from being smashed.
The accused has no criminal record.
A third person who stands accused is from Blaine, Wash. Police say he was drinking with friends the night of the riot and eventually found himself outside a store that was being looted. Like many that evening, it's alleged he helped himself.
He was identified because he was wearing a hockey jersey with his surname emblazoned on the back. He has no prior criminal record.
Yeo said Vancouver police continue to seek the public's help in fingering rioters and he said that in the New Year, the force will launch "addition strategies" to drive more people to the police website.
