Police say they responded to a high volume of calls during Canada Day celebrations across Waterloo Region. Between 4:30 p.m. on July 1 and midnight, Waterloo Regional Police said officers were dispatched to incidents in Victoria Park in Kitchener and throughout downtown Kitchener. Officials said they responded to disturbances, noise complaints, fireworks violations, mischief, and public intoxication as hundreds gathered in public spaces to celebrate the holiday. Victoria Park was closed around 10 p.m. to disperse large crowds. “We just did that for public safety and as well, just to kind of make sure that the ongoing issues did come to an end,” said Const. Chris Iden. “This is an ongoing issue that the city in our region is still experiencing, and we’re still working with municipalities to try to address this issue appropriately.” Police said fireworks were seized from multiple youths, and a 17-year-old was arrested for possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. “When police were dealing with him, the youth had a noxious substance on his person and that’s what we were dealing with,” said Iden. “If there was any injuries, there was nothing major that required any further medical treatment,” he added. Several trespassing charges were laid under the Trespass to Property Act, and investigations into other incidents remain ongoing. Officers from multiple units, including the Public Order Unit and Community and Youth Engagement Unit, were deployed to assist with crowd and safety management. “We’re always growing,” said Iden. “We’re always learning from previous calls and that’s how we get better as time goes on. So we were able to actually apply a lot of stuff that we have learned from previous occasions or previous holiday weekends where we have experienced this type of behaviour before. We were able to apply it yesterday. So as things go on, as things happen, we will continue to learn. And that’s just how we operate as a service.” Spilling onto the streets Meanwhile, some Kitchener residents said the Canada Day commotion spilled onto their streets as well. Viewer submitted video shows what appears to be a large group of teens and young adults congregating on Schneider Avenue. The gathering only begins to disperse once fireworks skim over the neighbourhood. “We were just sitting at home last night and we noticed that the fireworks sounded a lot closer,” resident Calvin Mills told CTV News on Wednesday. “We were hearing some screaming and yelling.” Mills said he has lived in the area for six years, and the incidents involving fireworks have worsened. “The fireworks that they were using were just huge - the big ball ones that shimmer at the end. We were seeing kids run around and touching their face because they were getting burned.” Mills believes around 200 teenagers were on the street and he thinks many of them came from Victoria Park. “Kids who are bringing fireworks and being reckless and dangerous with it are also coming here because they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re going to run from the cops and its going to be cat and mouse - like a game.’” Statement from mayor In a statement from Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic, he said Tuesday’s “negative actions of a few in the area surrounding downtown” will not deter the city from hosting future gatherings and bringing people together. “As a community, we all need to be concerned about the unruly behaviour of a small group of youth in the region – whether in a city park or elsewhere - and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to address these issues by taking the strongest stance possible to hold individuals accountable for their unlawful behaviour," said Vrbanovic.
