Times-Chronicle Staff
An entire family was evicted and banned from Gallagher Lake campground on Saturday after partiers demonstrated a flagrant lack of respect for police.
“The complete lack of respect that my officers received from these people was disgusting” said Sgt. Don Wrigglesworth. “Alcohol abuse continues to be the biggest problem encountered in our line of work.”
Wrigglesworth referred to a noise complaint at the campground at 1 a.m. on May 22.
“Police located a noisy trailer with numerous people inside, playing loud music, screaming, yelling, dancing, banging and jumping up and down,” Wrigglesworth explained.
He said police asked the occupants to shut down the party and they stated they would comply. Officers stood by for approximately 10 to 15 minutes and noted that, while the music was turned down slightly, a lot of the yelling and banging was still occurring.
Police again asked the group to shut down the party, warning that potential arrest would follow if they didn’t. Minutes later, an intoxicated male exited the trailer and was causing a disturbance and berating police officers, Wrigglesworth noted. The male, in his 30s from Kelowna, was subsequently arrested for causing a disturbance. As he was being escorted to the police vehicle, the male began to yell loudly for his “mom and dad,” at which point another male attacked the officers attempting to get his friend or brother away from police, Wrigglesworth said.
Due to the number of intoxicated people and danger of further engaging these individuals, the one male was transported to the detachment cells where he was lodged until sober. He was released in the morning with no charges.
Wrigglesworth said campground staff subsequently evicted the entire family and banned them from returning.
