It was a busy Saturday night on the carnival grounds in Campbell River for the RCMP as frontline officers responded to 10 separate calls and claim to have dealt with multiple other issues on-site over the course of four hours.
According to police, the calls were received on the night of August 21 between the hours of 7:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
Police first responded to a call regarding an intoxicated 24-year old man, known to police, who was causing disturbances and “bothering almost everyone in sight.” RCMP note that the actions of this man resulted in a large fight in the parking lot of the Brandt Rd Shell Station, where a panic alarm was set off notifying police. The 24-year old had active warrants out for his arrest and he was taken into police custody and held for court.
Police say another call involved locating a 26-year-old female walking away from the carnival in a highly intoxicated state, screaming and waving her arms in anger at passersby. Officers say they were able to supervise the female and arrange for her safe pickup.
Another incident involved a highly intoxicated 18-year-old trying to fight random people on the fairgrounds, resulting in him being bear sprayed. When police located the man, he was not willing to disclose to police who had sprayed him or what had unfolded prior to the incident.
RCMP says multiple small altercations continued to occur throughout the night involving intoxicated teens and adults “who just didn’t seem to understand that the carnival was supposed to be for fun.”
Const. Maury Tyre with Campbell River RCMP says that the actions witnessed at the carnival grounds by police over the weekend are “disheartening” to see.
It’s disheartening that fun events like carnivals have to be ruined by a few people who think it’s an excellent place to demonstrate their drunken or drugged out prowess in fighting and flirting,
said Cst Tyre. I spoke to several younger people the following day and instead of talking about the rides and treats and the fun they had, what they talked about was the fights and the smell of drugs and liquor. Quite frankly, adults who venture into an event targeted for the fun of young people and families and act as if common social decency doesn’t apply to them should be ashamed of themselves and it is simply not acceptable. These individuals succeeded in turning positive childhood memories for some into a teaching point for kids’ parents, to show their children how not to act.
Anyone who has been a victim of a crime or is needing to report a suspicious incident can call the Campbell River RCMP at 250-286-6221 or in an emergency call 911.
Graham Cox
