COVID-19 rules ignored by Vancouver crowd: police

Vancouver police say a large and "hostile" crowd gathered downtown on Halloween night despite COVID-19 restrictions, but officers didn't issue tickets because of safety concerns.

Police say in a news release officers were called to the Granville entertainment district Saturday night when a growing crowd of people weren't paying attention to physical distancing rules.

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It says officers stopped a Range Rover for a traffic violation and those inside "swarmed" the police.

When the crowd grew to about 30 people, the officers called for backup.

Police say one man was arrested for jumping on the hood of a police vehicle.

A rear passenger side window was smashed on another police vehicle and an arrest has not been made in that incident.

"Based on the hostile demeanour and size of Saturday’s crowd, social distancing tickets were not issued to party goers on the Granville strip as it would not have been a safe or an efficient use of the available police resources at the time," the department says in the release.

"Police must consider officer and public safety when deciding on possible enforcement options."

In the release, the police describe the Halloween weekend as "mayhem" as they responded to stabbings, assaults and a burned Porsche.

Three stabbings were investigated on the weekend including an altercation between two groups of people near the Pacific National Exhibition grounds and two in the Downtown Eastside.

Just after midnight on Sunday, a Porsche Panamera went up in flames in what police say was likely arson.

Apart from Vancouver Police, the Surrey RCMP also had a busy night with the Halloween weekend as people were not on their best behavior.

Police and call takers in #SurreyBC responded to over 900 calls for service on #Halloween night, including 324 bylaws complaints related to fireworks, parties etc. Busy night for our teams! pic.twitter.com/CXBGnmUSfW

— Surrey RCMP (@SurreyRCMP) November 2, 2020