The Whistler RCMP were kept busy over the B.C. Day long weekend, responding to over 30 noisy parties and disturbance calls, but there were few arrests.
A news release from the police said that RCMP members were dealing with parties, yelling in public areas, public intoxication and fights into the wee hours of just about every day over the holiday weekend.
On July 31, at about 1:20 a.m., the RCMP responded to an incident at a nightclub where a male, believed to be with a group of friends from Vancouver, picked a fight with a bouncer. RCMP foot patrols were notified that a fight was in progress and they attended the scene but the man was nowhere to be found.
The police got a description of the individual and looked for him throughout the village and finally found the ones they believed were the culprits, just as they were getting into cabs.
"We got the descriptions and we looked all over the place and we find people that are matching the descriptions but there are just so many of them," RCMP Sgt. Shawn LeMay said in an interview.
RCMP members later talked to a co-operative person at the scene who informed them that the man who started the fight had just left in the first car.
RCMP members encountered similar challenges throughout the weekend, getting reports of incidents without being able to apprehend the individuals involved.
"There was a lot of that on the weekend," LeMay said.
On the same night, at about 3:05 a.m., police got a call about a fight in progress near the gazebo at Town Plaza. Two adult males visiting from Richmond notified police that they were assaulted by a group of four males from North Vancouver.
They said they were minding their own business when the four males approached and tried to engage them in a fight. One of the assailants, it's believed, took sand out of a nearby planter and threw it in a victim's face while another took his shirt off and flexed his muscles, gearing himself up for a fight. Each of the victims was punched in the face.
Police made patrols throughout the night looking for suspects but none were found. Anyone with information on that assault is asked to contact the Whistler RCMP or Crimestoppers.
That was just one of five fights broken up or prevented by foot patrols on Friday and Saturday night, although the latter was quieter. LeMay said that individuals involved in the fights often hailed from Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley communities.
Two reported instances of impaired driving
While the village kept the police fairly busy, the highway was quiet by long weekend standards.
Police attended two incidents involving impaired driving. On Aug. 1 at about 2:30 a.m., the Whistler RCMP observed a Westfalia van driving with its sleeping roof canopy open between Day Lots 4 and 5. Officers stopped the vehicle and spoke to the driver to see if his vehicle was having mechanical issues. They quickly determined he had consumed alcohol.
The driver was served with a 24-hour suspension after blowing a "warn" in a breathalyzer test.
Later that morning, at about 7 a.m., the RCMP assisted with the eviction of about a dozen revelers from a late-night party at a boutique hotel in the village. A subsequent call informed police that a 26-year-old male from Abbotsford, believed to have come from the party, was seen driving away from the hotel in his truck.
The RCMP responded and noticed the truck driving through the drop-off loop between the two hotels just south of Village Gate off Blackcomb Way. The officers stopped on the side of the road and looked for signs of intoxication.
Police administered a breathalyzer test and the driver blew a "Fail," suggesting he was well over the legal limit. He was detained and three breath tests showed him with readings of 210, 180 and 190 milligrams of alcohol per 1000 millilitres of blood in his system - more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.
The truck was impounded, the driver given a 24-hour suspension and he is facing charges of impaired driving and having a blood alcohol content of over 0.08.
RCMP cruiser T-boned near Blueberry Hill
A police cruiser was the subject of a vehicle collision near Blueberry Hill.
A female RCMP member was south of the subdivision, monitoring traffic flows for impaired drivers. She caught on to a car that was speeding and that may have had a burnt-out headlight. She made a U-Turn on the Highway to go after it and a 2009 Chevy Tahoe crashed into the driver-side door.
A senior officer soon attended the scene and police did a "thorough investigation" of the collision, treating it as they would any other such incident.
"Our officer was a little shaken up," LeMay said. "She's doing well and we're very fortunate that nobody got hurt."
Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to call the RCMP if they have any information they wish to share.
