Police report ‘minor injuries’ after altercation between two groups near Hamilton Pride Event

Although Hamilton police were not officially welcomed to Pride festivities in Gage Park on Saturday, due to an alleged strained relationship with the LGBTQ2 community, uniformed officers did make an appearance to defuse an altercation in the park.

Hamilton police in a statement said they “responded to reports of a large disturbance between two opposing groups at the Gage Park Pride Festival.”

They went on to say the scuffle happened “in the middle of the park away from the main festivities,” and that officers dealt with a disturbance involving a number of people “engaged in a physical confrontation where several individuals received minor injuries.”

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Both groups were eventually escorted off the property.

Organizers of Pride Hamilton were apparently aware of potential trouble, posting a social media message on Thursday alerting attendees about the possibility of protestors at the event.

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“As you might remember, about 6 or 7 protestors showed up to Gage Park last year with big awful signs,” said Pride Hamilton in a Facebook post. “Unfortunately, part of planning Pride means planning to deal with this stuff and we’ve been doing our best to stay ahead of it.”

Police say no victims or witnesses have come forward after the alleged altercation and that anyone with information can reach out to investigators at 905-546-2929, or provide information anonymously at Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.