It appears Whistler’s long-standing efforts to cool down Victoria Day chaos have resulted in lasting success, but police in the resort still had their hands full over the May long weekend.
Whistler RCMP received 89 calls for service over the Victoria Day weekend this year, according to a release. That’s down ever-so-slightly from the 91 calls made last year, but drastically lower than the 169 calls for service Whistler RCMP fielded throughout the 2015 May long weekend, and the 200 calls the detachment received during the same three-day period in 2014.
Man arrested for possessing weapon
Several of those calls came in just before 4 a.m. on Sunday, May 21, alerting Whistler’s RCMP detachment to two men who were reportedly drunk and causing a disturbance in a restaurant located in the 4300 block of Lorimer Road, in the Marketplace area.
One man was caught wielding a pocketknife and “trying to give out drugs,” police explained in the release. RCMP arrested the man at the scene for possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose, and apprehended the other for public intoxication.
Both individuals have since been freed from custody. Police said the suspected pocketknife-brandisher was issued a future court date prior to his release.
Anti-gang unit resolves disturbance in Whistler Village restaurant
The Sunday-morning incident marked the second time police officers visited a Marketplace eatery in a matter of hours. Earlier Saturday evening, at about 9:40 p.m. on May 20, police were called to deal with “a group of 10 youth” who were disturbing employees and patrons in a restaurant in the 4300 block of Lorimer Road.
B.C.’s provincial anti-gang agency, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, happened to be in the area, assisting Sea to Sky RCMP in preventing any conflict over the holiday weekend. According to RCMP, members of the uniformed gang enforcement team successfully “facilitated the group leaving without further incident.”
Bike thieves located
Youth were also to blame for a mischief call that drew Whistler RCMP to the 70 block of Retta Lake Rd, near Pinecrest Estates south of Whistler, on Sunday evening at about 5:15 p.m.
Police attended the scene after hearing reports of two youth kicking in a shed door and stealing a bike. Despite calling police, the complainant opted to take matters into their own hands: after locating the pair, the bike’s owner decided “to resolve this matter civilly” rather than through law enforcement, police said in the release.
Those events were among the 126 files Whistler RCMP opened in the seven days spanning from Tuesday, May 16 to Monday, May 22—for context, police dealt with 96 files the previous week, from May 9 to 15.
Police pull impaired drivers off roads
On Thursday, May 18, before the long weekend officially got underway, a member of Whistler’s RCMP detachment out on patrol noticed a rental SUV speeding down a Whistler road at 107 kilometres per hour. The issue? The driver was travelling through a 60 km/h zone.
After pulling over the vehicle, police presented its driver with a violation ticket for excessive speed and impounded the rental SUV for one week. The driver and his passengers decided to head back to the city in taxis, according to a release.
The lead-footed visitor wasn’t the only motorist to have their vehicle sent to the tow yard last week, but a series of other impoundments were sparked by more than a need for speed. According to the release, Whistler RCMP investigated a total of four impaired driving files between May 16 and 22.
One investigation began when police pulled over “an aggressive driver” for a routine traffic check, police said. While interacting with the motorist, police noticed the man was displaying physical signs of impairment. Another traffic stop for excessive speeding resulted in the driver, a female from the Lower Mainland, failing a breath test, while a third instance began when a patrolling RCMP officer noticed two passengers “stagger” into a car. Police conducted a traffic stop and determined the driver, who was visiting the resort from out of the area, also had liquor on his breath.
Whistler RCMP handed each of the three drivers a 90-day driving prohibition and impounded their vehicles for a 30-day period.
In a fourth case, a Whistler RCMP officer out on patrol pulled over a driver after noticing the motorist was carrying passengers in the bed of his truck. “Contrary to his new driver restrictions,” police determined the driver had liquor in his system. The incident earned him a three-day driving prohibition, a violation ticket and an impounded truck.
