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The Last Gang in Town: The Epic Story of the Vancouver Police vs. the Clark Park Gang
A riot at a Rolling Stones concert opens this compelling story of a year-long confrontation in 1972 between the Vancouver police and the Clark Park gang, a band of unruly characters who ruled the city's east side. Corrupt cops, hapless criminals, and murder figure in this raucous history with contemporary overtones that questions which gang was the petty criminals, or the police themselves. Aaron Chapman is a writer, historian, and musician and the author of two Vancouver nightclub histories, Live at the Commodore and Liquor, Lust, and the Law .
224 pages, Paperback
Published June 6, 2017
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172 people want to read
About the author
Aaron Chapman
16 books14 followersAaron Chapman is a writer, historian, and musician with a special interest in Vancouver's entertainment history.
He is the author of The Last Gang in Town, the story of Vancouver's Clark Park Gang; Liquor, Lust, and the Law, the story of Vancouver's Penthouse Nightclub, now available in a second edition; and Live at the Commodore, a history of the Commodore Ballroom that won the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award (BC Book Prizes) in 2015. He lives in Vancouver.
He is the author of The Last Gang in Town, the story of Vancouver's Clark Park Gang; Liquor, Lust, and the Law, the story of Vancouver's Penthouse Nightclub, now available in a second edition; and Live at the Commodore, a history of the Commodore Ballroom that won the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award (BC Book Prizes) in 2015. He lives in Vancouver.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
January 3, 2017
This book brought about a lot of memories for me because I was a part of it. The facts portrayed are surprisingly accurate. The memories expressed are primarily those of the gang side, which is understandable, in that only a few of the good guys (we cops) were prepared to give our side. Those relatively few VPD members who did choose to speak, did manage to tell it like it was however.
Just for your information though Mr. Chapman, the guy in uniform standing beside "mouse" in the picture was not a wagon driver, he was a Dogmaster. I can attest to that because it was me and I was also part of all those riots covered in the book, with the exception of that at the Coliseum. I missed that one because I was off duty. It might also surprise you to learn that my PD partner and I were also attached to the H-Squad operations. We also worked undercover in an unmarked yellow Plymouth sedan and made regular late night passes through Clark Park after the curfew and made ourselves known to many of those that were there illegally. Not officially of course, both of us were in "Plain clothes" after all.
Just for your information though Mr. Chapman, the guy in uniform standing beside "mouse" in the picture was not a wagon driver, he was a Dogmaster. I can attest to that because it was me and I was also part of all those riots covered in the book, with the exception of that at the Coliseum. I missed that one because I was off duty. It might also surprise you to learn that my PD partner and I were also attached to the H-Squad operations. We also worked undercover in an unmarked yellow Plymouth sedan and made regular late night passes through Clark Park after the curfew and made ourselves known to many of those that were there illegally. Not officially of course, both of us were in "Plain clothes" after all.
May 25, 2020
This is an excellent read detailing gangs in Vancouver in the early 1970's. I am writing a genealogical fiction novel and needed to know more information about this era. I found the information not only helpful, but written in a way that made it very interesting. It shows both sides of the story at the time, from actual accounts of gang members and police. It also shows how time changes perspectives and people. I highly recommend this novel!
September 21, 2025
This was so interesting and I feel like I learned about a part of Vancouvers history that I wasn’t really aware of before. Super enjoyable read!
October 1, 2023
It was very interesting to learn about this part of local history that I was completely unfamiliar with. I thought I would get through it more quickly, but the writing did not lead to that.
February 11, 2018
My son just moved to East Van. And this book was recommended by the author of North of Normal, Cea Sunrise Person. Ah, 1972, what an interesting time period where $6.00 was thought to be outrageous for a Rolling Stones ticket?
August 20, 2020
Aaron Chapman’s book deals in large part with the year 1972. The author wasn’t born until 1971. This is a book written by someone that wasn’t there to experience the era, the feel or the times, the fashion statements, so it's important to point that out. From his bio: Aaron Chapman spent the first twenty-five years of his life at 37th Avenue in Kerrisdale.
If you knew nothing about East Vancouver in the 60s and 70s, one could easily get the impression from this book that all of East Van was poor, down-and-out.
Growing up in East Vancouver, I found this book rather narrow, as it mainly zeroes in on a small and certain faction of East Vancouver. But often Chapman refers to "east enders" as though everyone was wearing mac jackets and daytons.
Back then in Vancouver there was a variety of people in different groups/gangs. There was a huge variety of actual good music, cars that didn’t all look the same, actual real cool people. Greasers, hippies, hersheys, suck-holes, jocks, etc. and those in between, the works. You didn’t and don’t have to be a “greaser” to enjoy The Rolling Stones (contrary to what Chapman suggests in the last line in the book).
The book spends little time describing or evoking the good vibes of the culture of that era, instead focusing on the neglected, downtrodden or negative side in terms of certain groups of “disadvantaged youths” (as the courts like to say), juvenile detention, etc. All of this is essential in order to create a backdrop for understanding the subjects in the book; the mother who locked her kids in the trunk of her car so she could drink downtown, the father that was never home, the mother who is a heroin dealer. That was not the norm in East Vancouver. But again, Chapman often references East Van as one place, one type of person. And that just isn’t accurate. Seeing as Chapman wasn’t even born until 1971, he had no way of actually seeing all of East Vancouver, the nice neighbourhoods, the nice kids, nice families that were raised there. So I needed to make that point.
Hearing stories from some of the Clark Parkers who, at the writing of the book were in their early 60s, is a look back and retold through the older subject’s perspective. The best parts of the books are when they relay their stories and their feelings of the time, and their present thoughts. And this I really enjoyed. The police, well that’s another matter. Most of us as teens learned not to trust them back then and for good reason (as the book goes into).
There were a lot of parks in Vancouver, not just East Vancouver. Parks were a typical place for a lot of people to hang out in. That didn’t automatically mean people were up to no good, and it didn’t mean they were spreading out a checkered tablecloth for a picnic either. Parks were the place to go to be with friends, or meet people and to listen to good songs on the radio, joke around, talk, drink Old Style, etc. and just find a place to belong. That was a typical scenario.
I was 13 in 1972 in the Rupert/Renfrew area of Vancouver. There were lots of different “gangs”. Back then that word didn’t have the same meaning as people of today think of, which Chapman points out towards the end of the book. This wasn’t just happening in Vancouver, every city had parks, “gangs”, groups, whatever you want to call them, in the late 60s, early 70s. That was a magical time in Vancouver, the likes of which we’ll never see again. What once made Vancouver a great city is gone, which one of the contributors to the book also points out. It wasn’t just the city, it was the era.
In the book, Aaron Chapman writes about the “decrepit” houses of East Vancouver. This is a huge generalization that fails to capture the real essence of this large area. But I suppose this is to be expected considering the writer neither lived there, nor possibly saw all of it from his side of town as a child.
In describing East Vancouver, Chapman appears to be unaware that over 50% of East Vancouver had new homes built in the 1960s as was the case in my neighbourhood in the Rupert to Boundary Rd area. At that time I rarely saw a "decrepit" house anywhere. The decay of East Van homes started in the early 1980s, and that decay also affected a lot of the character homes built in 1912 in Kitsilano as well and other parts of the city. The times they were a changin'.
The book sheds some light, mainly from police, about the riot outside of the Pacific Coliseum during The Rolling Stones concert in 1972, which wasn’t started by people from Clark Park, as Chapman points out in his book. I was one of thousands of people inside the concert who wandered out after 11 pm to see some debris and aftermath of the riot. Silence. The VPD in helmets with their batons held up to their chest as you see in the photos in the book. The riot didn’t define that night for thousands of people.
As a prelude to the concert a month before, was the night hundreds of people including myself and a friend went up to Empire Stadium at three in the morning to so called, line up for tickets. There was no lineup until about 8 a.m. getting ready for when the ticket booth opened at 10 a.m. It was a huge party on the football field, with BC Lion rain ponchos gotten hold of and given out, drinking, pot, great music and a lot of good vibes and laughter. It was just one of many events that year that happened without incident. How the owner of the PNE allowed this ‘happening’ was pretty cool actually. No idea if VPD was around. If they were, they turned a blind eye. There was no violence and tickets were easy to get, and a party to go along with it. No good reason anyone couldn’t have gone up there to get one for $6.00.
I don’t say all this to discourage anyone from reading the book, just to point out a lack of context and the stereotyping of East Vancouver at the time in general. I enjoyed the book, which includes a lot of great info, photos and reminiscences from those that were there in that small part of East Vancouver.
If you knew nothing about East Vancouver in the 60s and 70s, one could easily get the impression from this book that all of East Van was poor, down-and-out.
Growing up in East Vancouver, I found this book rather narrow, as it mainly zeroes in on a small and certain faction of East Vancouver. But often Chapman refers to "east enders" as though everyone was wearing mac jackets and daytons.
Back then in Vancouver there was a variety of people in different groups/gangs. There was a huge variety of actual good music, cars that didn’t all look the same, actual real cool people. Greasers, hippies, hersheys, suck-holes, jocks, etc. and those in between, the works. You didn’t and don’t have to be a “greaser” to enjoy The Rolling Stones (contrary to what Chapman suggests in the last line in the book).
The book spends little time describing or evoking the good vibes of the culture of that era, instead focusing on the neglected, downtrodden or negative side in terms of certain groups of “disadvantaged youths” (as the courts like to say), juvenile detention, etc. All of this is essential in order to create a backdrop for understanding the subjects in the book; the mother who locked her kids in the trunk of her car so she could drink downtown, the father that was never home, the mother who is a heroin dealer. That was not the norm in East Vancouver. But again, Chapman often references East Van as one place, one type of person. And that just isn’t accurate. Seeing as Chapman wasn’t even born until 1971, he had no way of actually seeing all of East Vancouver, the nice neighbourhoods, the nice kids, nice families that were raised there. So I needed to make that point.
Hearing stories from some of the Clark Parkers who, at the writing of the book were in their early 60s, is a look back and retold through the older subject’s perspective. The best parts of the books are when they relay their stories and their feelings of the time, and their present thoughts. And this I really enjoyed. The police, well that’s another matter. Most of us as teens learned not to trust them back then and for good reason (as the book goes into).
There were a lot of parks in Vancouver, not just East Vancouver. Parks were a typical place for a lot of people to hang out in. That didn’t automatically mean people were up to no good, and it didn’t mean they were spreading out a checkered tablecloth for a picnic either. Parks were the place to go to be with friends, or meet people and to listen to good songs on the radio, joke around, talk, drink Old Style, etc. and just find a place to belong. That was a typical scenario.
I was 13 in 1972 in the Rupert/Renfrew area of Vancouver. There were lots of different “gangs”. Back then that word didn’t have the same meaning as people of today think of, which Chapman points out towards the end of the book. This wasn’t just happening in Vancouver, every city had parks, “gangs”, groups, whatever you want to call them, in the late 60s, early 70s. That was a magical time in Vancouver, the likes of which we’ll never see again. What once made Vancouver a great city is gone, which one of the contributors to the book also points out. It wasn’t just the city, it was the era.
In the book, Aaron Chapman writes about the “decrepit” houses of East Vancouver. This is a huge generalization that fails to capture the real essence of this large area. But I suppose this is to be expected considering the writer neither lived there, nor possibly saw all of it from his side of town as a child.
In describing East Vancouver, Chapman appears to be unaware that over 50% of East Vancouver had new homes built in the 1960s as was the case in my neighbourhood in the Rupert to Boundary Rd area. At that time I rarely saw a "decrepit" house anywhere. The decay of East Van homes started in the early 1980s, and that decay also affected a lot of the character homes built in 1912 in Kitsilano as well and other parts of the city. The times they were a changin'.
The book sheds some light, mainly from police, about the riot outside of the Pacific Coliseum during The Rolling Stones concert in 1972, which wasn’t started by people from Clark Park, as Chapman points out in his book. I was one of thousands of people inside the concert who wandered out after 11 pm to see some debris and aftermath of the riot. Silence. The VPD in helmets with their batons held up to their chest as you see in the photos in the book. The riot didn’t define that night for thousands of people.
As a prelude to the concert a month before, was the night hundreds of people including myself and a friend went up to Empire Stadium at three in the morning to so called, line up for tickets. There was no lineup until about 8 a.m. getting ready for when the ticket booth opened at 10 a.m. It was a huge party on the football field, with BC Lion rain ponchos gotten hold of and given out, drinking, pot, great music and a lot of good vibes and laughter. It was just one of many events that year that happened without incident. How the owner of the PNE allowed this ‘happening’ was pretty cool actually. No idea if VPD was around. If they were, they turned a blind eye. There was no violence and tickets were easy to get, and a party to go along with it. No good reason anyone couldn’t have gone up there to get one for $6.00.
I don’t say all this to discourage anyone from reading the book, just to point out a lack of context and the stereotyping of East Vancouver at the time in general. I enjoyed the book, which includes a lot of great info, photos and reminiscences from those that were there in that small part of East Vancouver.
January 27, 2020
Loved this book, it's a great read!! I'm from South Vancouver but I knew all of the haunts these guys frequented. Blue Boy, Eldorado, Lassiters Den, Biltmore, etc. I lived on Venables st one block from Templeton Seconday school until I turned 10 years old and Commercial Drive was a favourite place to explore. Moved up to 45th ave so I'm much more familiar with the Bobolink crew but I'm certain that (being born in 1955) I crossed paths with a lot of these guys unknowingly!
Aaron Chapman is a very good writer and this book moved along at a fast pace. He stays factual without sensationalizing the times but it was like a trip down memory lane for me. I liked Aaron's style so much that I also purchased his book on The Penthouse Cabaret which I'm reading right now. Great writing and I would strongly recommend this man's work to anyone that might have even the slightest interest in the Vancouver of old, or simply looking for a good book to read!!!
Aaron Chapman is a very good writer and this book moved along at a fast pace. He stays factual without sensationalizing the times but it was like a trip down memory lane for me. I liked Aaron's style so much that I also purchased his book on The Penthouse Cabaret which I'm reading right now. Great writing and I would strongly recommend this man's work to anyone that might have even the slightest interest in the Vancouver of old, or simply looking for a good book to read!!!
February 1, 2020
I loved this book for its energy and the way it invokes the early 70s, which I lived through but only realized while reading Last Gang in Town were really different. And I loved the pacing and energy of Chapman's writing. He's lively and remarkably unobtrusive -- the book is about the Clark Park gang and not him, so he doesn't insert himself. To be sure, he had help from the surviving members of the Clark Park gang who were willing to share with him. They are hysterically funny in some cases and remarkably honest about their fighting and stealing back in the day. You met guys like this, back then, even if you weren't in their world. One or two you would have been careful around, but for thost part they were all right. Stories like this often get lost with time, so it's great that Chapman captured this little piece of a place and a time.
March 9, 2017
The story of the Clark Park Gang is fascinating, and confusing. From the author's point of view this was just a group of friends meeting in the park, and doing usual teen pranks and mischief. The police outlook on situation was very different. They administered "Clint Eastwood" type of justice. Danny's death and creation of H-Squad were a grim reaction to rise of crime activities in the area.
Recently, in my 50s, I was regularly taking part in tug of war and many other crazy games organized for adults by a Meetup group in the very same park, so I found the facts really surprising. The book is well-written, and I would recommend reading it to anybody.
Recently, in my 50s, I was regularly taking part in tug of war and many other crazy games organized for adults by a Meetup group in the very same park, so I found the facts really surprising. The book is well-written, and I would recommend reading it to anybody.
August 1, 2018
Very well written, researched and laid out. Lots of pictures of people and places. I found it really interesting to read of this time- about the same time I moved to British Columbia- in Vancouver. It seems a balanced portrayal of the scene (judging by reviews by police as well as quotes from "gang" members. Doesn't seem like much of a "gang" per se. More like a bunch of young guys getting into trouble, some of whom reformed and some of whom didn't. Interesting portrayal of Vancouver in the time.
March 10, 2017
Local Authors always make me feel a little bit uncomfortable, mostly because the question in my mind is: "are these guys being published solely because they're highlighting our town?" My mind was put at ease with Aaron Chapman's "Last Gang in town". I loved how thorough it was. Very informative, engaging, and entertaining. Perfect gift for any East Van residents. Awesome pictures too!
January 14, 2017
A compelling history of a place so familiar to me from the era just before I was born. Aaron Chapman paints a vivid and well-documented picture of the "recent" past that actually made a couple things from my childhood make more sense while also broadening my scope on the city that has almost and never quite been home for much of my life. A fascinating and wonderful read.
January 19, 2017
A captivating account of Vancouver's Eastside gangs in the 70s, when my beloved 'hood was much much different. Chapman doesn't glorify nor condemn, and the result is a gritty historical read about the places I walk around every day.
June 3, 2017
Fascinating to read this section of Vancouver history. My father grew up in this, on the East Side of Van, troubled home-life, quite likely he had friends or was a part of this (he wore the Mac Jacket the Clark Parkers wore) but he passed back in 2001 so I'll never be able to ask to know for sure.
August 27, 2017
A fascinating history of East Vancouver neighbourhoods with anecdotes from criminals and police. The author is very careful about not taking sides and just presenting the facts. Great story for any Vancouverite.
December 17, 2016
Captivatingly written with great pics of East Van in the seventies. Parents warned us about Clark Park, now we know why. ***
July 8, 2017
I lived in Vancouver at the time that this situation was going on. I am about 4 years old than the participants in the Clark Park Gang. I find that their protestations that 'they were never organised' a lot of bull. I also find it very hard to swallow these men, who are now in their mid-60s, talking about what 'a great time they had and what fun they had'. Especially considering they committed so many thefts, burglaries, car thefts, assaults, arsons etc and generally terrorising the neighbourhood around Clark Park. They spared no one from kids to grandparents. What I find even more galling is them blaming the police for their escalating activities. 'Wah, wah. If they just left us alone we wouldn't have done half the things we did'. Particularly, the death of a 17-year-old boy who was part of the gang and was accidentally shot to death after a group of them stole a car, broke into a house and stole a TV set. The police officer slipped and fell on wet pavement while running after this boy . As the gun was in his hand it was surmised that his finger automatically tightened and the shot was fired. Bear in mind that in those days guns did not have an automatic trigger lock. According to these senior delinquents, the officer deliberately murdered this boy. Interestingly enough the courts found the police officer not guilty. He went on to have an exemplary career in the police force. The gang members all ended up in jail for murder, drug trafficking, big time robbery etc. but according to them, all the witnesses lied. If you can swallow this stuff and believe that the three city riots these people were involved in were just 'misunderstandings' by all means read the book. For me it goes in the burn this book pile.
November 2, 2018
Conflicting thoughts and so on whilst reading this book.
Even the FIRST sentence of the introduction..
"The Clark Park gang. The worst of the worst. Hell-born, long-haired thugs from a generation of bastards raised on the hard streets in the East End of Vancovuer. The brutal street gang errupted into violence everywhere they were, beating up everyone in sight.........."
.....and so on.....
Right off the bat, I was annoyed!! 'Bastards'..?? Well..I guess all of those born to bastards are automatically doomed to be arseholes forever and ever..??
Weirdly enough..it felt like the story kinda glorified/excused/patronized/exemplified/kicked in the face..etc. all those long-haired thugs AND the law enforcments.
I lived in Vancouver in the 1970's and early '80's..as did many friends.
Sadly..not much has really changed in the East End. A couple of months ago a friend and I (both females) walked up one side of Hastings and back down the other..the people that scared us were the 'tourists' that went to have a looksee at all the 'unfortunates'.
While people are sleeping on the filthy sidewalks..maybe with some plastic sheeting (oh yay)..the aptartments above them cost over 1 or 2 (or waaay more) MILLION dollars..and they are all filled with people that DON"T SEE out their windows!! They never look out to see who is on the sidewalk. It is a shame to the governments that have all those 'lucky' people that make all those decisions on how to spend taxpayers dollars!!
Okay..rant done.
(oh yes..I say that things became even worse and MORE divided after Expo '86..more money made it possible to hide more of the 'unfortunates' from BC tourism tourists)
Thankx
aaron Chapman for all the memory jogs in this book.
Even the FIRST sentence of the introduction..
"The Clark Park gang. The worst of the worst. Hell-born, long-haired thugs from a generation of bastards raised on the hard streets in the East End of Vancovuer. The brutal street gang errupted into violence everywhere they were, beating up everyone in sight.........."
.....and so on.....
Right off the bat, I was annoyed!! 'Bastards'..?? Well..I guess all of those born to bastards are automatically doomed to be arseholes forever and ever..??
Weirdly enough..it felt like the story kinda glorified/excused/patronized/exemplified/kicked in the face..etc. all those long-haired thugs AND the law enforcments.
I lived in Vancouver in the 1970's and early '80's..as did many friends.
Sadly..not much has really changed in the East End. A couple of months ago a friend and I (both females) walked up one side of Hastings and back down the other..the people that scared us were the 'tourists' that went to have a looksee at all the 'unfortunates'.
While people are sleeping on the filthy sidewalks..maybe with some plastic sheeting (oh yay)..the aptartments above them cost over 1 or 2 (or waaay more) MILLION dollars..and they are all filled with people that DON"T SEE out their windows!! They never look out to see who is on the sidewalk. It is a shame to the governments that have all those 'lucky' people that make all those decisions on how to spend taxpayers dollars!!
Okay..rant done.
(oh yes..I say that things became even worse and MORE divided after Expo '86..more money made it possible to hide more of the 'unfortunates' from BC tourism tourists)
Thankx
aaron Chapman for all the memory jogs in this book.
October 2, 2025
The author chronicles the gangs of east Vancouver, especially the Clark Park gang which hung out in a park of that name in the 70's. The confrontation between the Vancouver police and the gang ramped up after the riot outside the Rolling Stone concert for which the gang was blamed. The police formed a goon squad using heavy handed and illegal tactics which finally ended up in a young 17 year old gang member being killed. The author looks at both the police and gang members spending extensive effort interviewing and researching to come up with what I think is a fair and balanced report of the times. While the book is well researched, I cannot rate this book higher due to its limited appeal as it is likely only of interest to those from the area.
May 6, 2023
Not sure how much appeal outside of Vancouver this might have... but as a former Vancouverite who remembers the Clark Parkers (and the Riley Parkers) still being invoked as boogie men in the late '70's, it was nice to finally get the "official" story.
Now this is largely an oral history from both sides of the law, and a certain amount of myth building is evident, but the story is a good one, nonetheless. So, whatever the actual truth was, I'm sure it at least ran parallel to Chapman's tale.
All in all, an entertaining snapshot of the cops and delinquents in a Vancouver that's largely unrecognizable these days.
Now this is largely an oral history from both sides of the law, and a certain amount of myth building is evident, but the story is a good one, nonetheless. So, whatever the actual truth was, I'm sure it at least ran parallel to Chapman's tale.
All in all, an entertaining snapshot of the cops and delinquents in a Vancouver that's largely unrecognizable these days.
July 24, 2025
Full of interviews and archival photos The Last Gang in Town covers an dark time in Vancouver's history, that of the struggles between the VPD and the Clark Park Gang in the late 60s to 70s.
I first became interested because I heard my grandfather ran in a street gang in Vancouver but it would have been 20-30 years before the coverage of this book.
I think Chapman did an excellent job covering both sides. I felt both sympathy and condemnation for both the gangsters and the police at different times.
I first became interested because I heard my grandfather ran in a street gang in Vancouver but it would have been 20-30 years before the coverage of this book.
I think Chapman did an excellent job covering both sides. I felt both sympathy and condemnation for both the gangsters and the police at different times.
August 22, 2025
Interesting local history, although it wasn't as "epic" as I expected. I thought the gang was romanticized a bit more than it probably should have been.
Also, listened on audiobook and the narrator was pretty tough to listen to.
Also, listened on audiobook and the narrator was pretty tough to listen to.
November 19, 2020
Anyone who grew up in Vancouver will love this book!
February 25, 2023
This book helped me to understand where my preconceived notions of life east of Main during the 60's and 70's. Those kids I was afraid of in Gray Park were in fact part of a gang! Good read.
January 30, 2025
I enjoyed the read and thank the author for providing this very valuable contribution to maintaining g the history of our wonderful town
February 5, 2023
Stolidly describes the trees, without any sense of the forest...
February 8, 2018
Fascinating account of the 'park gang' era in Vancouver's east side. Well researched and easy to read.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews