At least one police officer received minor injuries and several concert-goers were charged but later released unconditionally after a chaotic scene at a Billy Talent concert as part of Canal Days celebrations in Port Colborne on Saturday.
Police say units from across the region responded after the venue, H.H. Knoll Park, reached capacity, leaving up to 5,000 people outside the gates.
The crowd eventually pushed their way through the fence, according to police.
The concert went ahead with officers working to ensure crowd safety and police are reporting no serious injuries took place within the park.
Find more detail in the full release from Niagara Regional Police that follows:
On Saturday Aug. 3, in response to a surge of people attending the Canal Days evening Billy Talent concert, Niagara Regional Police Service officers were called to the H.H. Knoll Park in Port Colborne.
In response to the situation, members of the Public Order Unit (POU), the Emergency Task Unit (ETU), the Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU) and uniform officers redeployed from across the Niagara Region attended to assist event organizers and security personnel.
Officers were advised that the park had reached capacity, necessitating the need to close the surrounding gates/fence to additional people attempting to enter the park.
As a result, approximately 4,000 to 5,000 people approached the entry gate and began challenging officers and security.
The outside crowd then overcame the perimeter boundary, pushing their way through the fence and knocking portions of it over, with the overall crowd in excess of 18,000.
Officers worked methodically and diligently to address the large crowd and ensure the overall safety of those in attendance during a dynamic and challenging situation during which a police officer was assaulted by an unknown person who then went into the crowd. The officer was assessed at the scene with minor injuries and returned to duty.
In consultation with the performing band, it was decided that the concert would continue if it remained safe to do so.
Throughout the evening, several people were taken into custody for causing a disturbance; they were all released unconditionally.
In any situation, officers use discretion to manage the issue as it presents, while taking care not to escalate the situation to maintain public and officer safety.
There were no injuries reported to police as a result of the situation within the park.
