Regional Police estimate 22,000 swarm Ezra on St. Patrick’s Day, 619 charges laid

A record number of people gathered on Ezra Avenue this St. Patrick’s Day.

Regional Police estimate 22,400 people swarmed the short avenue near Wilfrid Laurier University.

Police also responded to 248 calls for service, resulting in 619 charges handed out by Regional Police and Special Constables from Wilfrid Laurier.

By comparison, 197 charges were laid last year.

Of those 619 charges, police say 435 were liquor-related offenses.

There were also 62 traffic charges, 18 criminal charges, 45 by-law offenses, 50 for trespassing, five controlled drugs and substances act charges and four Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act charges.

There were only three criminal charges at last year’s event.

Police say the eight criminal charges for 2018 were for causing a disturbance, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, carrying a concealed weapon and impaired driving.

“Our officers responded to several very dangerous and unsafe incidents throughout the day and into the evening,” said Police Chief Bryan Larkin in a release.

“Over the next several months we will be meeting with our community partners to discuss how we move forward in terms of shutting down this unsanctioned, unlawful and unsafe gathering. We have said from day one that we want attendees to have a good time, but we want them to have a safe time. This is a major public safety concern.”

Meantime, Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services saw an increased demand throughout the day, which continued into the early morning hours of Sunday.

A spokesperson says “crowds made locating and accessing patients difficult for paramedic crews,” noting 12 trained paramedics responded by foot near Ezra to assess and extricate patients out of the crowd.

Paramedic Deputy Chief Kevin Petendra says “crews responded to a total of 70 patient contacts between 10:00 a.m. Saturday to 03:00 a.m. Sunday. 40 of these patients were transported to local hospitals.”

Officials say while these numbers “mirrors previous years,” they’re more concerned with the severity of the cases they dealt with.

“12 patients transported were in critical or serious condition all related to alcohol and substance misuse,” Petendra states, “These critical patients put significant pressures on our resources and the resources at our local hospitals.”

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