St. Catharines waterfront the sole trouble spot on annual ‘Beach Day’

Niagara | St Catharines | Community | Crime | Education |

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Published June 5, 2023 at 4:26 pm

With a crowd of over 1,800, there were issues at Sunset Beach in St. Catharines on June 2. For decades, the first Friday in June is declared "Beach Day" by high school students who ditch school to head to their local beaches.

For decades, the first Friday in June has been known as “Beach Day” in Niagara with high school students region-wide ditching classes to head to their local beach.

Niagara Police know this all too well and like previous years were extra-vigilant in their communities with waterfront beaches last Friday (June 2), notably Fort Erie, Port Colborne, Grimsby, and St. Catharines.

The beach areas were patrolled by extra officers hired for foot and ATV patrol. The NRPS Marine Unit was deployed to the Lake Erie shoreline and the NRPS Traffic Enforcement Unit patrolled the roads near the beaches.

For the most part, the youth were well-behaved but Sunset Beach in St. Catharines was a problem spot. With a crowd of over 1,800, police said, “Officers found some persons in the crowd to be volatile and defiant at times, with officers having had cans and water bottles thrown at them.”

The police added that they faced “significant challenges with multiple fights, underage alcohol and drug use, motor vehicle collisions, and a large brawl that led to a 16-year-old male being transported to the hospital serious but nonlife threatening injuries.”

In connection to that injury, Noah Ciccone, 18, of Grimsby was charged with assault causing bodily harm.

Bay Beach in Fort Erie drew close to 250 people and the only issues were security guards and Fort Erie Bylaw officers stopping attempts to bring alcohol on to the beach.

Nickel Beach in Port Colborne had 100 young persons with no issues reported and the Grimsby and west Niagara beaches had “little activity” also with no issues reported.

Niagara Police say, “Depending on the year, the event has been both problem-free and has experienced alcohol and drug consumption, vandalism, littering, and unfortunately violence.”

In the case of the massive brawl at Sunset Beach, police are asking anyone who may have witnessed, or video recorded the brawl to contact detectives by calling 905-688-4111, option 3 extension 1009628, referencing incident #23-58323

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