Calgary police intensify patrols at Chinook Mall after large crowds, fighting on Black Friday – Calgary

A number of clashes at the Chinook Center on Friday night resulted in an increased police presence on Saturday.

A video posted on Twitter showed hundreds of teenagers walking around the mall and witnesses said several fights broke out.

Ron Brosilvsei, who owns the custom T-shirt kiosk in Chinook, said he lost customers due to the accidents.

“There was a big fight, but we saw more smaller fights. One of the guys who was almost fighting [hit] one of the guys, “said Brosilvsei.” She was standing and ordering shirts, then she got pushed so we lost a customer. She just said she didn’t want to shop there today.

In a statement, Cadillac Fairview – the company that owns and operates the Chinook Mall – said police officers were called to deal with the incidents.

“A group of young people came to the center last night and unfortunately hindered the flow of traffic and caused disturbances throughout the center,” the statement read. “[The crowd] it resulted in a combined effort of several police officers who attended the site to support our security team as they attempt to get out of the mall. “

Police said 20 officers were sent to the mall on Saturday to keep the peace, despite no tickets being issued on Friday.

Brosilvsei said he hopes Cadillac Fairview will take Friday’s accident seriously.

“They need to strengthen their security and, until then, bring in more police officers to ensure everyone’s safety,” he said.

Calgary police said patrol officers in Chinook would also observe compliance with the mask law, but the focus would be on education, not enforcement.

Officers would not monitor the new capacity limits for commercial spaces, police added.

At the Chinook Mall, every single store had their maximum number of customers posted at the entrance, and Cadillac Fairview said it was also monitoring the number of shoppers.

“In addition to on-site security teams, who constantly monitor the flow of traffic, we use industry standard occupancy meters to help our property teams manage access to the property when we reach capacity limits,” says a statement from the society.