Although Kingston city enforcement says there were fewer crowds during the second Queen’s homecoming weekend, heavy police and bylaw enforcement was necessary to curtail street parties.
“While we saw a slight improvement from Oct. 16 and 17 in terms of the volume of partiers, officers continued to observe aggressive, volatile, and disrespectful behaviour that has unfortunately become the norm these past weeks,” says Kingston Police Chief Antje McNeely.
Police presence was heavy, with multiple forces coming in to help quell crowds, including officers from the Durham Regional Police, the Toronto Police Service, the Ontario Provincial Police public order unit, York Regional Police, the Belleville Police Service, Gananoque Police Service and the Smiths Falls Police Service.
According to statistics released from the city Monday afternoon, bylaw officers issued 64 administrative monetary penalties totalling $68,700 in fines, while Kingston police issued 83 provincial offences fines, 57 administrative monetary penalties and arrested 14 people.
One person was arrested for possession of a dangerous weapon and a controlled substance, while the rest are facing public intoxication charges.
Kingston police officers ticketed 26 people, a total of $30,000 in fines, for hosting an aggravated nuisance party.
Bylaw officers handed out 30 tickets for failing to comply with an emergency order, with a total of $60,000 in tickets issued.
Kingston Health Sciences Centre said they saw an improvement in emergency room demand, but they were still kept “extremely busy” by incoming partiers.
The hospital organization said its emergency department received 10 patients from the unsanctioned homecoming events, compared with 29 from the first weekend of street parties.
“The majority of these visits were the result of severe intoxication,” KHSC said in a statement.
One officer was injured during the homecoming events, but Kingston police have yet to give an update on those injuries.