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Hockey and the Police
by Alanah McGinley on 03/05/08 at 04:29 PM ET
Comments (5)
The Vancouver Canucks ECHL affiliate, the Victoria Salmon Kings, have managed to end up in a police situation because of this incident:
Robin Gomez of the Victoria Salmon Kings has been suspended indefinitely by the ECHL after he punched Chris Ferraro, a star forward for the Las Vegas Wranglers, and knocked him to the ice during a game at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre last Saturday.
Ferraro hit the back of his head on the ice, causing a gash that produced a large pool of blood. The cut required eight stitches to close, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Obviously not the first time professional hockey in BC ends up the focus of a police investigation (flashback to Brashear/McSorley, Moore/Bertuzzi).
So how does a police department investigate an on-ice incident?
Sgt. Grant Hamilton says “We look at a number of factors such as intent, and whether this was outside the normal scope of a game.”
That’s a tall order. I’m not even sure Colin Campbell’s office—with all its hockey experts—does the greatest job of figuring this stuff out. No disrespect to the police, but can they be experts at establishing ‘intent’ in a sporting match?
It’s possible to have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, you’d probably never see another intentional hit to the head if you were willing to send a guy to jail for it. But on the other hand, there’s a whole lot of dangerous hockey that is never intentionally dirty, yet can occasionally have terrible consequences.
This particular incident isn’t looking all that accidental, however.
The episode occurred in the second period of the game, which Las Vegas won 5-4. Gomez came off the bench and surprised Ferraro with a hard punch to the face that knocked him to the ice.
Ferraro told the Review-Journal he is in pain from the neck up. He was scheduled to see a neurologist yesterday.
“It was the most cowardly thing I’ve ever seen in my entire hockey career,” he told the newspaper.
I’m sure the police will do their best to establish what happened, and will either file charges or they won’t.
But one day it might be something we don’t expect being investigated.
For the sake of argument, imagine a situation where Jack Johnson’s hit on Ryan Smyth last weekend might end up on a police blotter for some reason, if someone pushed a complaint. And it’s that kind of incident that’s going to make criminalizing on-ice situations very complicated.
From the point of view of most hockey fans (as far as I can tell) that was a clean hit with a terrible, unintended result. But from the point of view of a police investigation, was taking Smyth into that particular juncture of the boards a deliberate act?
I’m not saying that they would say that, but I can see how it could all get pretty murky.
Anyway, that’s my random thought for the day. So, hockey players, behave yourselves. 
Filed in: nhl general | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: echl, nhl+discipline, salmon+kings, victoria+police,
Comments
You make a good point, and that’s the thing, isn’t it: people lodge complaints for various reasons, perhaps sometimes self-serving. Then it’s left for the police to sort out.
In this particular case, who knows. The Sergeant I quoted above apparently wouldn’t answer the question (for the Victoria Times-Colonist reporter) about who filed the complaint.
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 03/05/08 at 06:40 PM ET
I think the only concern I would consider is whether or not the police issued the complaint.
If so, there is a major problem with law enforcement.
Posted by Ted from Innisfil, Ontario on 03/05/08 at 07:06 PM ET
There is a huge difference between a legal check and a punch in the head to an unsuspecting person. Please use some common sense. I’m not in favor of police action in most cases, but there are situations that go beyond the rules of hockey or any other sport. I don’t know if this incident was beyond the pale, but it does appear that the league came down hard on Gomez.
Posted by Jim A from Phoenix on 03/08/08 at 06:56 PM ET
I don’t think it’s necessary to open an investigation, I mean the player has been suspended indefinitely. Nothing will get resolved and it will have wasted tax payers’ money.
Posted by Sidney Crosby on 03/14/08 at 12:48 AM ET
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Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003 (with a notable gap in time through 2010, kicking it with new baby Lucy while living knee-deep in chaos while reading “parenting for complete idiots” during every spare minute) sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen.
In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah was one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast. She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
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I have no problem with the police investigating this incident. They have to because some idiot (likely in the stands) lodged a complaint and the police are legally bound to pursue the investigation.
Once the police take the initiative to determine whether or not they investigate a complaint, they’ve lost all credibility.
While Robin Gomez is not exactly a skilled player, I would be interested in whether the complaint was lodged because of a dislike for the individual and whether or not fans can be stopped from taking these actions.
All sports are open to these situations. Anyone can lodge a complaint.
Posted by Ted from Innisfil, Ontario on 03/05/08 at 06:17 PM ET