whyte avenue > deadmonton > edmonton

The weekend of November 18th – 19th, 2006 saw Edmonton police dealing with an unusually high level of violence and death – even by Edmonton's standards.

At about 2:10 a.m. on November 18th, two groups of men were arguing on the sidewalk between the Second Cup outlet and Stolli's Bar on the west side of 104th Street north of Whyte Avenue.

Two men suffered minor stab wounds to their upper bodies and a third was stabbed seriously enough to be sent to University of Alberta Hospital where he was listed in stable condition [full details].

Twenty-four hours later and just a block west of this incident, two separate attacks occured within moments of each other, one of them ending fatally.

Around 2:30 a.m. on November 19th, Dylan Cole McGillis and two friends had just left a bar on the south side of Whyte and were crossing the avenue near 106th Street to get back to their car.

They were swarmed by a group of up to fifteen males. McGillis was stabbed in the chest and later died becoming Edmonton's 34th homicide of 2006 [full details].

Moments later and a half-block west on 106 Street north of Whyte Avenue, a 29-year-old man was yanked from his truck and stabbed multiple times, at least once in the leg [full details].

Also over the two days, police were called to a hall party in the city's west end where they found 17-year-old Evan Grykuliak dying of stab wounds; a 23-year-old man was found kicked and stabbed outside the Y Afterhours club at 102nd Street and 100th Avenue, and two men died in separate and spectacular car crashes – one involving a compact car travelling the wrong way up Groat Road, the other involving a car landing on its ejected driver.

While Edmontonians were shocked by the death of 17-year-old Evan Grykuliak, the murder of Dylan McGillis on the city's premier party strip brought the greatest response from the community, business leaders, politicians and Edmonton police.

Reaction to the seemingly random act on Whyte Avenue, coming within hours of the murder of Evan Grykuliak, saw city officials pressed for immediate answers.

Mayor Stephen Mandel, aware of the signficance of public perception, tried to re-assure citizens while offering a directive.

"This is number #1 issue."

"People have to know the City of Edmonton is a safe city."

"I think we're going to have to increase our presence in certain areas of the city with police. What those areas of the city will be, will be up to the chief."

"We have a greater number of people coming to town. There's many who are frustrated. Not everybody is benefiting as well from this [the oil boom]."

Premier Ralph Klein weighed in with his own views regarding the recent violence in the province's capital city and was quick to dismiss the notion that Alberta's economic fortune was at the root.

"The boom shouldn't have anything to do with knifings. Those are acts of hooliganism and you can't legislate against it."

"You can't legislate against stupidity, ignorance and violence."

"People who are hellbent to do these kinds of things are, first of all, bad people and no amount of legislation is going to stop people who are intent on doing harm to other people."

When Klein was the mayor of Calgary in the early 1980s he said he saw a spike in crime which eventually settled down.

In January 1982 Klein blamed "eastern creeps and bums" for driving up the crime rate in in that city.

Police chief Mike Boyd outlined what the police service intended to do.

"We're going to be identifying some of the areas in this city where this kind of behaviour is most likely to emerge."

"We're going to identify the locations, we're going to identify the days and times of the week, and we're going to be focusing our operational efforts around these areas."

The police chief invited community involvement at all levels to come up with solutions.

"I'm talking about community members. I'm talking about mothers and fathers. I'm talking about our court system and the justice system officials. I'm talking about educators. I'm talking about all of us bending down and picking up the ball and not dropping it on this issue."

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The death of Dylan McGillis brought attention back to the ongoing rift between the Old Strathcona residents and bar owners on Whyte Avenue.

The 2001 Canada Day riot, problems stemming from Stanley Cup celebrations and ongoing weekend rowdiness have resulted in experiments with security cameras, parking bans and a stepped-up police presence.

Spokespersons for two sides caught in the middle were interviewed by Global Edmonton.

Joanne Booth of the Strathcona Community Association spoke of the southside area as a magnet for young newcomers to the city.

"In a boom economy they've come into town and they're looking to party. So where are they going to party?"

"They're going to party where there is a high concentration of places for them to party – and that is Whyte Avenue."

Booth felt the area's troubles are frequently caused bar patron behaviour.

"And then when they become a problem inside the bar, the bar owners throw them out onto the street. Now we have angry drunks going around Whyte Avenue."

The concerns have become historic, said Booth adding what she feels is the solution.

"If the City of Edmonton would finally, once and for all, get serious about fixing the problem bars I think a lot of things would change."

"Get rid of the problem bars and you get rid of a large part of the problem."

For his part, Mo Blayways of the 22-member Old Strathcona Hospitality Association said bar owners are not to blame.

"Ultimately there's not much a bar can do to protect people on the street nor is that really a bar's responsibility to protect the citizens from the street."

Blayways feels a greater police presence would be part of the solution.

"They do their frickin' job phenomenally but there's only so much that eight to twelve policeman can do for 25,000 patrons in an area."

"If people are getting murdered out on the street and not getting caught it says something to me about the need for more police."

The head of the Edmonton Police Association said the Whyte Avenue problem has deteriorated to the point where officer safety is now a concern.

EPA President and police Staff Sgt. Peter Ratcliff agrees with Booth and says Whyte Avenue at night is a magnet for troublemakers who show little or no respect for the law.

Speaking to 630 CHED Radio, Ratcliff said doubling the number of beat officers on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights wouldn't put an end to the extreme violence.

He said hard choices need to be made on the allocation of police resources, and that the community must stop shielding violent offenders.

Ratcliff told the Edmonton Sun cop-shop water cooler talk is increasingly focused around officer safety on the avenue.

"It's a complete gong show down there, very volatile, very violent and very unpredictable."

630 CHED News reported requests for more officers from police who work on Whyte Avenue may have been stonewalled.

They were supposedly told to make do with what they have and find other ways to deal with disorderly conduct.

The station said the overtime budget for the White Avenue beat was cancelled early in September so if they needed help they must call for back-up from regular patrol officers.

At a press conference held earlier, Mayor Stephen Mandel was pressed for his ideas and cautioned against pigeon-holing the city's violence problems.

"Whether we have to put in metal detectors, whether we revoke their licenses – whatever we have to do it will be done."

"But let's not fool ourselves. This isn't only about bars on Whyte Avenue. This is about many, many other things."

Several Whyte Avenue area business owners were interviewed by the Edmonton Sun.

Some agree with Mayor Mandel while others pointed out none of the attacks have been directly connected to activities inside the bars.

Howie Silverman co-owns Dadeo restaurant at 10548 82 Avenue – the spot where Dylan McGillis was stabbed.

“We’re trying to do legitimate business here, and all of this bulls**t is directly affecting us," Silverman said after his sidewalk became a crime scene.

"People who want to come here and eat but are afraid because people are running around stabbing each other.”

Silverman applauds the idea of metal detectors in bars and also supports minimum-pricing for drinks which would eliminate the dollar-a-drink specials and booze freebies that attract a younger crowd.

“If you want to open a bar in this city, you should have to spend the money on metal detection because people are walking in with guns and knives.”

Mo Blayways said while metal detectors aren’t a bad idea he cautioned city officials not to use bars as a scapegoat.

"I'd like to know what they're going to do to curb people getting stabbed at house parties."

"What about people getting murdered on a bus?"

"What we're looking at here is a much larger issue than just violence in bars."

Shirley Lowe, executive director of the Old Strathcona Business Association, said metal detectors would not have made a difference in the weekend's stabbings as none of them happened in a bar.

Jenny Sherwin, owner of the When Pigs Fly shop at 10470 82 Avenue, said there are few problems during the day but suggested more cops would make the avenue safer at night.

Lowe said the area is safe and she feels comfortable walking down the avenue at 1:00 a.m.

“It’s a place where young people come to celebrate and, frankly, most of them are OK,” Lowe said.

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On November 22nd, 2006, three days after the murder of Dylan McGillis on a Whyte Avenue sidewalk, solutions to violence on the strip and throughout the city came from all quarters.

By the end of the day, police chief Mike Boyd had had enough and announced a plan of action.

"One of our big issues is transportation," Old Strathcona Business Association executive director Shirley Lowe told the Edmonton Journal.

"We are one of the only large cities that doesn't have a late-night transit system," Lowe said.

"No cab service can do this. They have already told us that they can't supply our transit needs, even if they put every cab in the city out on the street."

Edmonton police Staff Sgt. Ron Gabruck said there was merit in Lowe's idea.

"When the bars close at the end of the night there are [10,000 to 25,000] people standing around. Then one group comes into conflict with another group, and the problems begin."

Gabruck suggested improved lighting and additional police manpower would help, but getting bar patrons off the strip quickly is one of the most effective ways to reduce violence.

Buses stop running shortly after 1:00 a.m.

Edmonton Transit service development director Ken Koropeski said after 1:00 a.m. in the city they have had extremely low demand and the cost of increasing late-night service is prohibitive.

"If we do run buses out of Whyte Avenue, where will they go to? We could leave [passengers] at a transit centre, and then they would be stranded there."

"We would have to run the remainder of the system, as well as the buses out of Whyte Avenue."

Calgary Transit routes also close around 1:00 a.m. with a single route running until 2 a.m. In Ottawa transit authorities changed a route specifically to take late-night bar patrons home.

Shirley Lowe said when the bars let out, the street becomes a kind of social venue without rules. The street needs a cohesive management plan, she said.

"Cutting the number of bars in half, insisting on metal detectors, these things would not have prevented this incident," she said. "There is no simple solution."

Early reports suggest police said they were also looking into a new bylaw making it mandatory for metal detectors to be installed in bars.

Sources said surveillance cameras with digital capability may be re-installed after an earlier experiment brought about by the 2001 Canada Day riot ended.

"When you have a large number of people anywhere, you have to have the appropriate security on the street," Lowe added.

Mayor Stephen Mandel said he was fed up with the recent escalation of violence.

"I had someone come up to me last night and say to me they don't feel safe in our city. That's not going to happen anymore."

Mandel said he wants to call upon the province to stop liquor stores from selling alcohol after 11:00 p.m. as one way to reduce street violence.

“It’s a small step, but it’s among many things we will try to do to get control of the proliferation of problems we see in the city,” he said.

“Booze and gambling cause a lot of trouble – some people can’t control how much they drink.”

“This has got to stop. We’re losing control of things to do to make sure our citizens are safe.”

Mandel said he wants to discuss the restriction of store hours, including bar off-sales, as soon as the new Conservative leader is chosen.

"They're elected December 2nd. I'll call whoever it is on December 3rd and get an appointment."

“We have to change this – I don’t think there’s any question the government will listen to what we have to say.”

The strongest reaction of the day came from Edmonton police chief Mike Boyd.

"If not us, then who? If not now, then when?"

In a mixed show of frustration and determination, Boyd outlined a plan of attack at a public meeting of the Edmonton Police Commission at the Whitemud Community Centre.

"We're going to be doing business differently. There's going to be some re-focuing of resources and Whyte Avenue certainly will be one of the areas but there will be other areas in the city as well."

Supt. Norm Lipinski, head of policing for South Edmonton, spoke earlier to Global Edmonton and foreshadowed changes to the way the police service would deal with Whyte Avenue and other areas.

"I understand the people's fear of crime and we have to address that."

"And one of the ways we're going to address that is to put more police officers on Whyte Avenue on Friday and Saturday nights."

"We'd like to send a message, just by our visual presence, to the people that frequent Whyte Avenue that this type of behaviour is not going to be tolerated."

"And also to those people who visit there, and just want to enjoy themselves, that they have some comfort there's going to be more police officers on the avenue."

Lipinski suggested police presence would double. However, Boyd wouldn't comment on how many officers would be added to existing patrols.

"We will be working in uniform and be highly visible. We will have police officers working in plain clothes and won't be visible."

"Between the combination of visible police officers and plain clothes, we will be out there."

Mo Blayways of the Old Strathcona Hospitality Association applauded the police chief's plan.

"I'm all for anything that the city can do and the bars can do to make their patrons safer and to make the streets safer.

Shirley Lowe of the Old Strathcona Business Association agreed.

"I think that's fabulous. I think it's a really good start."

After talking to leaders in the community, including other public agencies, city licensing officials, education officials, community and business figures, Boyd said his ideas have a lot of support.

The chief said he would have the plan ready for the police commission on November 27th and would advise the public as needed.

Boyd said heading the initiative would be deputy chiefs Mike Bradshaw and Darryl da Costa.

"Everything's on the table here. We are not ruling anything out and we are going to hit this from every approach that we can."

"People are ready to move on this issue. If it can be done, I'll tell you, it can be done in Edmonton. This city knows how to work together."

While exact details weren't expected to be revealed, the officers Lipinksi spoke of would be on the street on Whyte Avenue immediately.

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One of the more popular notions regarding the managing of Whyte Avenue's problems was the re-installation of video cameras in the area.

The concept had been tried before after the 2001 Canada Day riots but police felt the experiment failed as cameras often yielded images of too poor a quality to be of use.

Developments in digital technology made revisiting the concept appealing to politicians and police.

Supt. Norm Lipinski, head of policing for South Edmonton, spoke to Global Edmonton.

"At that time the technology didn't allow us to have a very clear image of the people involved in certain offenses."

"I think the technology has advanced [and] I'm not adverse to looking at cameras again for Whyte Avenue."

Mayor Stephen Mandel suggested cameras may be the first but not a permanent step.

"Anything we can do which will begin to take control of the violence on Whyte Avenue and around the city we need to do in a short period of time."

"Doesn't mean we'll keep cameras there forever, but we've got to get a handle on it and I think our citizens are tired [of the violence]."

Police also considered making cameras at Whyte Avenue bar entrances mandatory.

The idea was supported by Hudson's Canadian Tap House on Whyte.

The bar had already installed eight cameras in their facility and felt the security they provided was a draw for their customers.

Speaking to Global Edmonton, a spokesman for Hudson's supported the addition of cameras to the Whyte area. Increased surveillance, he said, would make potential customers feel more comfortable.

The issue of cameras on Whyte Avenue was to be brought up at city council meetings and with police officials.

Mandel also continued to put forward the idea of earlier closing times for liquor stores in an effort to curb late night drinking.

Meetings of the Alberta Liquor Store Association were taking place at the time of the examination of Whyte Avenue's problems.

The Association's meetings were focused on responding to an Edmonton city council request to regulate the minimum distance between outlets (500 metres).

John Szumlas, president the ALSA, said the problem was not store hours but rather the time bars close down on Whyte Avenue.

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The first test of the city's upgraded police presence on Whyte Avenue came in the early hours of Saturday, November 25th.

Outside a few hardy bar stragglers, the only people braving the -25C temperatures were sixteen officers (both visible and not-so not visible), the mayor, the police chief and the media.

Mayor Mandel and Chief Boyd tried to make the most of the morning's chilly and self-conscious non-event.

Mandel explained why he was there despite the challenge of speaking with a frozen face.

"The chief is gonna give us the necessary information and advice and his staff, you know, to make sure we implemenent the kind of programs that make their job easier and make things more fun and safer on Whyte Avenue and that's our intent."

"We don't want to close it – we wanna make sure people still have a good time but we want to make sure people are safe, are comfortable and our police are also safe too."

Boyd also gave reasons for his early morning chief-on-the-street appearance.

"If you're going to be a police chief, you gotta be out here, you gotta see it for yourself. That's how you can support the community and support the officers on the front line."

"It is a way to understand exactly what's happening because staying in the office you can't accomplish that."

A lack of reports of violence on Whyte Avenue over the weekend suggested police efforts, along with the weather, were effective.

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In the days following the deaths of Evan Grykuliak and Dylan McGillis, a number of media outlets placed polls on their web sites.

A 630 CHED Radio news poll asked Edmontonians "Should Alberta's drinking age be raised to reduce alcohol related violence involving teenagers?"

62.33% supported raising the age to 21 years; 14.14% said 20 years while 23.52% said 'No' it was too late now.

Another 630 CHED Radio news poll asked Edmontonians "What can be done to reduce the deadly violence in Edmonton?"

12.1% suggested more cops, 58.99% wanted tougher sentences, 4.21% chose mandatory metal detectors in bars, 18.63% chose a look into the "societal" issues involved while 6.13% said "I Don't know--but SOMEONE do SOMETHING and NOW!"

There was no indication of how many voted on the one-day voluntary polls which allowed only one response per computer.

An Edmonton Sun news poll asked Edmontonians "Do you feel safe on Whyte Avenue after dark?"

17% voted YES while 83% voted NO.

1255 voted on the one-day voluntary poll which allowed only one response per computer.

Another Edmonton Sun news poll asked Edmontonians "Do you think Whyte Ave bars should be forced to stop selling cheap drinks?"

60% voted YES while 40% voted NO.

1309 voted on the one-day voluntary poll which allowed only one response per computer.

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deadmonton - whyte avenue

the problem plagued party place