A 17-year-old male was arrested for thrashing an anti-crime volunteer with a pair of sticks Sunday morning.
The teen, who will be charged under the Criminal Code as a young offender and cannot be named, was being tailed by two members of the Citizens on Patrol volunteer group in Whitehorse just after 3 a.m.
The teen was hassling four other youths along Main Street, according to the Citizens on Patrol, a volunteer group that observes suspicious activity during peak crime hours, but refrains from involvement.
A loud argument ensued and the teen went his own way, said RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Don Rogers.
The volunteers followed the teen in a vehicle, but lost track of him, said Rogers.
RCMP had not yet been called because no law had yet been broken, he said.
The volunteers parked their vehicles around the block from Main Street and waited to catch sight of the teen again.
That’s when the youth suddenly appeared at the driver’s window brandishing two pieces of wood.
The teen slightly injured one volunteer, but had one of his sticks taken away from him in the early morning melee.
He then made a run for it while the other volunteer called RCMP.
People in the area were interviewed, said Rogers, who wouldn’t expand on who helped identify the teen.
The male was arrested two to three hours later and charged with assault with a weapon and mischief causing damage under $5,000 for whacking the car.
The one volunteer who was hit with the sticks did not need medical attention, said Rogers.
There are eight members of Citizens on Patrol in Whitehorse who work without a set schedule, he said.
“They work whenever they can get out,” he said.
The volunteers are meant to be the RCMP’s eyes and ears during especially busy hours, he said.
They do not wear any identifiable clothing when on duty.