Niagara Parks Police Service say they’re investigating a ‘selfie’ social media post depicting an individual posing dangerously near the largest of three falls in the Ontario tourism destination.
The TikTok video was posted on Thursday by user “Phantabae” and shows a person making a number of position changes high above a retaining wall brink and rushing falls.
“An investigation relating to the matter is underway,” the parks police said in a release.
“A conviction for engaging in a stunt contrary to Niagara Parks Act may result in a fine up to $10,000.”
Niagara Falls mayor Jim Diodati characterized the “stunt” as “a really bad idea.”
“That kind of stunting is exactly what we don’t need here in Niagara Falls,” Diodati said.
The mayor suggested the stunt is similar to a 2011 incident in which a young woman climbed over a railing with an umbrella, and was killed when a wind gust pulled her off and into the falls.
“So that kind of stuff sets a poor example for kids and they think it’s all about getting more views on social media,” remarked Diodati.
“It’s really unfortunate where that’s going on and that kind of stuff is not the kind of exposure that we’re looking for.”
So far there’s no indication when the video may have actually been shot.
Niagara Regional Police say they are aware of the post and are also involved in the probe.
Neither police service say charges or arrests have been made at this point.