London, Ont., police issued more than 200 charges and warnings during Western University’s homecoming celebrations over the weekend.
According to officials, first responders were kept busy as roughly 6,000 to 7,000 people were on Broughdale Avenue and surrounding streets at the height of the unsanctioned event on Saturday, resulting in the closure of several roads at times, including Richmond Street, to ensure public safety.
“While most in attendance during the daytime were cooperative with police, fire and paramedic services, the evening hours saw behaviour from some individuals that was completely unacceptable,” London Police Service (LPS) Chief Steve Williams said in a statement.
In total, police issued 22 Liquor Licence Control Act charges and 34 administrative monetary penalties, which included infractions such as noise violations, and street and yard maintenance by-laws.
“There were three Criminal Code charges as well,” said Const. Sandasha Bough. “Two of those individuals were arrested on outstanding warrants, and one of the individuals was arrested in relation to assault police.”
Police also issued “a number of warnings,” including 162 provincial and 16 bylaw warnings.
“This included reckless acts such as throwing beer cans at others – including our officers – damaging property, and jumping from rooftops and hydro polls, which had the potential to cause life-altering consequences,” Williams said.
Patti McKague, a spokesperson for the city of London, said two vehicles were towed from Broughdale Avenue for parking violations and over 100 parking tickets were issued in and around the surrounding area throughout the day.
“The city, working with its community partners, provided a number of supports over the course of homecoming weekend, focused primarily on safety,” she said in a statement. “This included heavy equipment and barriers for traffic control, railings to keep lanes clear for emergency vehicles and the provision of waste containers that were temporarily placed on Broughdale Avenue.”
Street sweepers also cleaned the roads of debris when students had cleared, as crews later cleaned litter on city property.
“The city’s hope for homecoming was that students would take care of themselves, each other, their campus and this community,” she continued. “Large unsanctioned gatherings can be unsafe, and that was true at a number of times over the course of Saturday.”
Williams highlighted the significant financial cost associated with policing unsanctioned events, saying that the final total for this past weekend with drastically exceed last years amount of $250,000.
“This is an enormous undertaking each year,” Williams said.
According to Middlesex-London EMS officials, paramedics responded to 76 service calls over the span of 24 hours. Forty-eight patients were assessed on the scene and 28 were transported to hospital, where six patients were treated for serious injuries.
Officials said the serious injuries included, but are not limited to, respiratory distress, altered levels of awareness, cardiovascular injury, trauma and bleeding.
Prior to the return of in-person homecoming celebrations, university officials urged all attendees to stay safe and respect the community.
“Student safety remains our priority and the Western community is thankful to all first responders and community partners for their dedication and professionalism this weekend,” John Doerksen, Western vice-provost, said in a statement. “We also thank our staff and faculty who played a big role in the success of Homecoming weekend.”
The university did mention whether there were any violations of the institution’s code of conduct, but Doerksen said the school “will be debriefing with our community partners.”
Additionally, he said that Western, along with its partners, “will continue to work together to do everything we can to ensure our students understand the risks associated with unsanctioned street parties.”