Hampton Village residents describe alleged assault on police by youths

Those living in Saskatoon’s Hampton Village neighbourhood near the intersection of Junor Avenue and Hampton Gate say they were shocked by what they heard and witnessed on Tuesday night.

Saskatoon Police said two officers were injured after responding to a call about a fight involving 15 to 20 youths. Police didn’t describe the officers’ injuries except to say they were not considered life threatening.

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“I heard noise outside – a bunch of kids sitting on the grass and you could hear them talking and not doing much or anything. Eventually I could hear them smoking marijuana,” said Debbie St. Cyr, who lives a couple houses down from where the incident happened.

“I went out and did a chore, came back, and all of a sudden there were cops everywhere. Four, five, six cop cars sitting outside.”

St. Cyr said didn’t see the alleged assault, but said she was surprised by how quickly the situation escalated.

According to police, officers saw a group of 15 to 20 children surrounding an injured boy on the ground. Officers told the kids to clear the area so they could preform first aid, and that’s allegedly when a physical altercation broke out.

According to police, multiple people called 911 during the fight to say the officers needed help.

Jay Salikin said he was sitting on his deck just a couple houses down when altercation took place.

“We were sitting on the deck and we heard a bunch of yelling. Then, all of a sudden, four or five more police cars showed up with all of the lights going,” Salikin said.

“There was a big group of teenagers and the police were yelling at them fairly aggressively, and they were yelling back. There was a good 10 to 15 kids.”

“It kind of seemed like overkill at first, but when I saw how many kids there were I thought they might’ve been concerned about some kind of push back.”

The commotion startled Theresa Singbeil.

“We just saw a bunch of lights, and we looked out our window and we could see a bunch of cop cars by the alleyway and bus stop. There was a bunch of – I assume – teenagers. Some were going into the alleyway,” she explained.

“We saw an unmarked police vehicle go through the alleyway, but I think there was at least five cop cars. We did see some police officers trying to get some of the kids, and there was some shouting. It sounded like there was a fight.”

Ultimately, two 15-year-old boys and two girls, aged 14 and 15, were arrested and are facing a combination of charges relating to public intoxication, obstructing police, theft under $5000, and assaulting police officers.

While most in the area didn’t get a clear view of what happened on Tuesday night, those who spoke to 650 CKOM agreed these types of incidents aren’t common occurrences in their neighbourhood.

“I used to live in Vancouver, so I did see that somewhat, but not here. This neighbourhood has always been quiet,” Singbeil said.

“I’m a little worried. I make sure my door is locked all the time, but it’s a little close to home. A little worrisome.”

“There’s often people wandering around, but there’s not usually anything going on,” said Salikin. “It’s pretty quiet.”