This year’s May long weekend didn’t cause too many issues for local law enforcement.

Corporal Mark Amatto says the weekend was actually less active then RCMP had planned for.

“It was fairly average. It was less than what we had planned for. Whether that was do in part to weather, Covid or a combination of both.”

The most calls RCMP dealt with over the weekend were Mental Health Act calls and Assault calls.

“We had a handful of Mental Health Act calls. We also had some assault calls as well. We had approximately five of each. The assaults were domestic in nature,” said Cpl. Amatto.
RCMP also spent a lot of time on the highways over the weekend, resulting in large amounts of fines being handed out.

“We were planning on doing a check stop but there was a kibosh on that with Covid so we were out fairly aggressive with ticketing for traffic offenses. Between the Crowsnest Pass detachment and the Lethbridge integrated traffic unit, there was approximately just over $10,000 worth of fines issued over the course of the weekend. That includes everything from the west side of Cowley through to the BC border, highway 40, highway 22 and the 507,” said Cpl. Amatto.

There was also one incident where Search and Rescue were deployed and other detachments were involved.

“Search and Rescue was deployed once. We had a 52-year-old female from Calgary that ran out of her vehicle with no shoes. It was about 8:00pm on the 23rd right when we had the heavy rain and snowfall. We had Police Dog Service actively looking for her as well as Nanton RCMP and our detachment. We had Pincher Search and Rescue, Fish and Wildlife and Conservation officers as well. There were also quads and a drone deployed. We found out later on that she had been located in Calgary and was safe.”

When it came to campers over the weekend, Cpl. Amatto says most were well behaved and very little trouble came from campgrounds.

“The campgrounds were fairly well behaved. They were extensively patrolled with a combination of ourselves, Fish and Wildlife and Forestry. A lot of the interactions were fairly positive and really more of the interactions were just raising awareness that we were out there. There were a few people that were asked to behave that were on Crown Land. Overall it was fairly uneventful in that way.”

Cpl. Amatto says he’d like to remind local residents and visitors to continue taking necessary precautions as we approach the busier summer months.

“Local or not, please make sure that family and friends know where specifically your route is, how long you'll be gone and if you're area is without cell service, let people know so that we don't have missing and overdue traveller calls. It eats up a lot of time and resources that can be allocated for front line emergency response on all aspects including Fire and Rescue. We also ask that drivers keep their speeds down and make sure their equipment, whether that's an RV or fifth wheel, is in good working order and fit to be on the highway.”

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