A few hours before the start of the match between the Canadians and the Vegas Golden Knights, which takes place in the center of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Montreal police reiterated Thursday that additional and significant forces will be present, particularly in the city center. , where we expect large mass movements.
“Often it’s during a crucial match like tonight where it’s more difficult. If a Canadian gets to the final, and the euphoria is at its peak, there are often people who find it hard to express their joy. So we expect some excesses or at least bad deeds,” explain it Journalism A spokesman for the City of Montreal Police Department (SPVM), Manuel Couture.
“The key to ‘leagues’ will be to adapt ‘to the outcome of the match, but also to the audience,” he says. “The crowd can be negative or confrontational, but again, it can only be 1% of people. We have to adapt to that, and find a happy medium in our interventions,” adds the agent.
Moreover, the Montreal police are not hiding that their numbers will be “significant” across the island of Montreal Thursday night, but especially in downtown and around the Peel Center. “We think this is the busiest place, as there are no Saint-Jean performances tonight. However, we will also have patrols in parks and everywhere,” explains Mr. Couture.
It should come as no surprise to see police officers everywhere this evening, especially downtown.
Manuel Couture, Spokesperson for SPVM
For people who do not want to find themselves despite being at the center of police intervention, the PR employee has only one piece of advice. “The moment you see chaos or people looking for a confrontation, walk away. Don’t stay close, so as not to be attached to it, but also to leave space for the police to step into groups in a targeted manner,” he said, acknowledging that with a small crowd, he did not. “It’s always easy to do.
Since the start of the playoffs, some misdeeds have already been noticed, notably on June 7 during a Canadian game against the Winnipeg Jets in Montreal. Then the fireworks were directed at the police, damaging a patrol car.
As for sanitary measures, we can imagine that they will not be respected at all times tonight. We should not think that our police will be able to solve everything, but we will be very present,” concludes Mr. Couture.
Remember, the Habs could eliminate the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night, in six games, thus reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993. CH won the last meeting between the two teams by a score of 4-1, Tuesday night in Nevada.