RCMP report handful of incidents at Dauphin Countryfest

A 24-year-old Brandon man who allegedly started a fight after being found sleeping in the wrong camper during Dauphin’s Countryfest was one of several people arrested during a raucous weekend at Canada’s largest country music festival.

Manitoba RCMP issued a news release Tuesday highlighting a handful of police incidents that occurred between June 25 and June 28, as thousands of people gathered at the Selo Ukraina site outside of the Parkland city.

“Dauphin Countryfest attendees enjoyed the music and the revelry over the weekend, with only a relatively small number of interactions that required RCMP intervention,” the release said.

The first incident occurred opening night, when police said a 30-year-old man “physically challenged officers and security multiple times throughout the night” before getting into a shoving match with a 20-year-old woman he was with. The two Valley River First Nation residents were arrested and spent the night in custody, before being released with $672 tickets for disorderly conduct.

Early the following morning, the man found in the wrong camper “began fighting the rightful occupants when woken up,” police said. He, too, spent some time in a holding cell before officers released him without charge later that day.

RCMP also responded to two domestic disturbances on Saturday. In one case, a 40-year-old Lake St. Martin First Nation man was charged with assault. In the second case, a Saskatchewan man received two tickets after he got into an argument with his girlfriend at the beer garden and officers intervened, the release said.

“Officers advised the male to leave her alone for a little while. He repeatedly declined, resulting in the individual spending the night in jail until he sobered up.”

The man received $1,344 in tickets for disorderly conduct and failing to comply with direction by police to leave licensed premises.

Shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, a man was assaulted in the campground area. Officers learned a 22-year-old man was walking back to a campsite with his girlfriend when a suspect punched him multiple times in the head. The victim was sent to hospital. An 18-year-old Dauphin man was arrested the following night. His festival bracelet was revoked and he is facing a charge of assault causing bodily harm.

Also on Sunday, RCMP pulled over a vehicle driving erratically in the campground and charged a 46-year-old woman with impaired driving.

”RCMP thanks festival organizers and city officials for their annual efforts to ensure Countryfest is safe for all attendees. We also thank the thousands of attendees who enjoyed the music and all that comes with it in a safe and responsible manner,” the release said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca