Public Security kept busy over the New Year break

Partying a little too hard, a little too early…



“We noticed a car stopped at the light on the northwest corner of Atwater and St. Antoine around 5 a.m. on Dec. 31,� said Westmount Security Captain John Everatt.

“The light changed and the car didn’t move. Our officer pulled up behind him and beeped and the car still didn’t move, so (the officer) looked in the window and the man was slumped over the steering wheel.

“He flagged down a police officer who knocked on the window and the car started to drive away,� said Everatt of the drunk driver who was apparently partying down a night earlier than the rest of the world.

“He started to move the car and stopped a short distance away before getting out of the vehicle. He was then given a breathalyzer and was taken away by police.�



Partying a little too hard, a little too late…



The following evening, as parties raged all over the world, Westmount had just two noise disturbances and no other incidents on record.

“We had to shut down a couple of New Year’s parties, but that was about it,� said Everatt.

“One was just after 3 a.m., and the other was just after 4 a.m. Both complied with orders to lower their music and tone down the noise. One was on Kensington near Ste. Catherine, one was on Greene between Sherbrooke and de Maisonneuve.�



One out of 10 ain’t bad



Other than a total lack of snow, ice and cold heading already into mid-January, our strange weather has led to another interesting phenomenon: winter graffiti.

“There have been 10 incidents of graffiti since Christmas Day, with the latest on Jan. 6. We attribute it to the warm weather, because usually it tones down in the winter. I’d say we’re right on par with the summer right now,� Everatt said.

“We did manage to catch one suspect in the act near 995 Glen on Dec. 30, which is the Westmount Hydro station just near the Home Depot down there.

“One of our patrollers noticed three individuals near some graffiti on a fence around midnight and engaged the youths in conversation. They denied any involvement and two of them took off running. The third one started to walk away and was informed he was under arrest. The police came on the scene and restrained and handcuffed him,� Everatt said.

“As we caught up with the three individuals, we immediately called police for backup. The one that was caught was found with the actual can of spray paint that is suspected to have been used.

“He was given a $620 ticket as he was 19 years old. Sometimes we catch one out of 10, but it’s such a hard thing to stop.�