Enhanced presence, new bylaw helped tame homecoming party: Hamilton police

Ainslie Wood resident Gulzar Mohammad took no chances during last weekend's unsanctioned McMaster homecoming party.

After witnessing a car being flipped just steps from his Dalewood Avenue home in 2021, Mohammad elected to stand guard on his front porch all day Saturday, keeping a watchful eye on partiers who ventured too close to his property.

While the ingredients were there for a repeat of last year's hectic festivities - people, noise, booze, roofs to stand on, trees to hang from - the end result left him pleasantly surprised.

There was still a lot of kids, still a lot of noise, but it was definitely calmer than last year," he said. No cars flipped is a good thing."

Efforts to quell Mac's largest fake homecoming party and avoid shenanigans of old were largely successful thanks to months-long planning, said Supt. Dave Hennick of the Hamilton police.

The record number of partiers Saturday - which at its peak reached around 6,000 people - were matched by an on-the-ground team that totalled more than 250 police officers, bylaw officers, firefighters and city workers.

By noon, almost every home on Dalewood was blocked with police tape and large trucks were strategically parked at intersections to prevent traffic on the street. A large police drone whirred over the neighbourhood and horses with the mounted unit patrolled the outskirts.

Collectively, Hennick said, that was enough to keep the majority of the crowd under control and off of rooftops.

The crowd was very receptive," he said in an interview. All members of our (response) group said this crowd was different than past years."

Last year, about 5,000 students filled the streets near McMaster, trampling lawns, swinging from trees, clambering on rooftops and destroying a car. The problems prompted council to pass a special nuisance party bylaw with beefed-up fines just last month.

Hennick said the bylaw helped police disperse partiers at around 5 p.m., after smoke grenades were launched into the crowd by some revellers.

We wanted to take a measured response and, up until that point, the crowd was a fairly peaceful," he said. But once the smoke bombs were thrown into the crowd and we declared the bylaw, people had to leave the area or face fines."

And it seems those in attendance got the message. By 7:30 p.m., the treelined, west-end street was empty - save for a few stubborn partygoers.

All told, 16 partygoers were issued bylaw charges and provincial offence notices - including 11 under the new bylaw, which carries a penalty of $300 to as much as $10,000, depending on the nature of the infractions. Police spokesperson Jackie Penman said the other five bylaw charges were related to public urination and public disturbance.

There were also nine people arrested, said Penman, of which a majority were for non-criminal reasons. Five people were released unconditionally and three were issued bylaw offences. Penman said only one was kept in custody after being charged with assault with a weapon.

Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com