Police in West Vancouver say the tipping point in a violent altercation between authorities and a crowd made up of hundreds of unruly North Shore teens on Canada Day came just before 9 p.m.
At that time, police say they questioned one teenager for underage drinking, and he allegedly charged at them. The ensuing conflict left two officers injured and two teens in handcuffs.
Video posted on social media shows three officers trying to restrain the teen struggling on the ground near the Ambleside skate park, as a crowd surrounds them, swearing and taunting the police.
A second video shows what appears to be a teenage girl attacking and punching another girl.
"This did surprise us, absolutely," said Const. Kevin Goodmurphy, of the West Vancouver Police Department.
"When it turns to violence and when officers are being assaulted, it changes dramatically," Goodmurphy said.
Police say one of the officers was also punched in the face, drawing blood. Two underage teens were arrested, and later released. Both could potentially face assault charges.
"We believe that alcohol played a huge factor in this," Goodmurphy said. "This isn't about bad people. This is about people making poor decisions."
When CTV News showed the video to West Vancouver councillor and father of three Craig Cameron, he called it "sickening" and "disappointing."
"We've all been young and done stupid things, but this is beyond that," Cameron said, adding that it showed an unusual level of "disrespect and hostility."
It's not the first time a group of North Shore teenagers have turned destructive.
In March 2018, teenagers who had been drinking tore apart a West Vancouver home a 14-year-old girl had rented with a credit card, throwing furniture off the back deck and into the hot tub, causing an estimated $20,000 in damage.
At the time a 15-year-old who attended the party but says he didn't take part in the rampage told CTV News they were just "stupid kids."
When CTV asked Cameron if he was worried about West Vancouver getting a reputation for entitled teenagers behaving badly he replied:
"I think we all on the North Shore have a privileged existence. I think that our children don't understand how privileged they are."
Cameron said he plans to show his children the video and talk to them about what he called mob violence. He also praised the police for showing what he called restraint.
Officers say they had to shut down Ambleside Park temporarily because of the violence and size of the crowds. The group eventually dispersed toward Park Royal mall but didn't break up until midnight.
"We hope it was a one-off," Goodmurphy said. "We hope these people have learned their lesson."
