Gastown Riots
1971 CE.
Shown on the map at 49.283°, -123.104°.
The Gastown riot, known also in the plural as Gastown riots, also known as "the Battle of Maple Tree Square", occurred in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on August 7, 1971. Following weeks of arrests by undercover drug squad members in Vancouver as part of a special police operation directed by City hall, police broke up a protest smoke-in in the Gastown neighbourhood. The smoke-in was organized by the Youth International Party (Vancouver Yippies) against the use of undercover agents and in favour of the legalization of marijuana. Of around two thousand protesters, 79 were arrested and 38 were charged. Police were accused of heavy-handed tactics including indiscriminate beatings with their newly-issued riot batons. They also used horseback charges on crowds of onlookers and tourists. A commission of inquiry into the incident was headed by Supreme Court Justice Thomas Dohm.
Text from the Wikipedia article Gastown riots, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.