Citizen on Patrol members assaulted

A 17- year-old youth is facing charges of assault with a weapon and mischief under $3,000 after a volunteer from the Citizens On Patrol (COP) group was attacked early Sunday morning.

A 17- year-old youth is facing charges of assault with a weapon and mischief under $3,000 after a volunteer from the Citizens On Patrol (COP)  group was attacked early Sunday morning.

Whitehorse RCMP said this morning there were two volunteers with the organization - which works with the RCMP on crime prevention - conducting a patrol of the downtown core early Sunday morning when they saw a young man acting suspiciously.

It looked like he was bothering a group of youth, but he eventually left the area so they went about patrolling near the bars, alleys and local businesses, police said.

“The COP volunteers later observed the same youth with two sticks in his hands walking towards where the same group of youths were hanging out,” notes an RCMP statement.

“They had stopped their vehicle to try and locate the youth when the youth suddenly appeared, brandishing two sticks and began jabbing the volunteer with the sticks
through the window.”

In defending himself, the Citizens On Patrol volunteer was able to disarm the young man of one of the sticks.

Before running off though, the youth hit the volunteer with a stick in the head and face a couple of times. The volunteer did not require medical treatment.

Meanwhile, the other volunteer had already called the RCMP for help, but the young man couldn’t be found immediately.

“The youth was subsequently identified, located and arrested,” reads the statement.

He was held in cells at the Whitehorse detachment before being released on a promise to appear.