Violence in La Loche
The residents of La Loche were shocked to learn of the events at the hospital September 30, 2011. A gang of party-goers attempted to enter the hospital and were pepper sprayed by two members of the RCMP. The mob then burned the RCMP vehicle and damaged an ambulance parked in front of the hospital. They were eventually dispersed by the whole RCMP detachment who came to the aid of their two members.
Click on the red headlines for news coverage.
September 30, 2011 La Loche....A police car is burned... CBC News
Global Regina News
Star Phoenix
Charges are laid against La Loche rioters.
Some La Loche residents dispute cause of riot.
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An individual who was in the hospital at the time said the party-goers thought that a friend of theirs had been killed by the RCMP ramming the ATV he was driving. The men were crying and screaming for their friend who at the time was sitting on a bed in the hospital being attended to. The individual said that this mob was acting crazy and that people in the hospital were very afraid. The two RCMP members tried talking to them saying that their friend was alright but that did not pacify them. Members of the mob gained access to the emergency entrance of the hospital and were pepper sprayed back out by an RCMP officer. They then proceeded to set the police truck on fire and started smashing windows on the ambulance.
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An RCMP truck rammed an ATV in front of Dene High School in 2008.
This popular video filmed in La Loche a few years ago may have been on the minds of the rioters at the time of the events in front of the hospital. It appears to have been taken from the security cameras of the high school.
It shows a young man driving his girlfriend to school then being rammed by an RCMP vehicle. It then shows the man running away pursued by two members of the force.
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Murder on La Loche Avenue: 2010 (Click on the red headline for the story.)
A man was shot and killed on the main street of La Loche last year across the street from the RCMP detachment.
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Denedeh Part 1 and Part 2: A video documentary on La Loche.
A view of the RCMP building on Laloche Avenue.
Thoughts......two weeks later:
The citizens of La Loche have been twice traumatized by the events at the hospital two weeks ago.
They were first traumatized by what had happened: A group of young men caused damage to the hospital, burned an RCMP vehicle and broke the windows of an ambulance. They assaulted RCMP officers and EMS personnel by pelting them with beer cans and frightened the staff and patients of the health center.
This became national news. Millions of Canadians now looked at this little town of 2300 people. Many tried to learn more about La Loche. They found pictures and information on the internet. Five thousand Canadians read about La Loche on wikipedia in the two days following the incident.
The citizens of La Loche were traumatized again by the comments of people who wrote their "opinions" on the internet. The residents read these comments. The students of Ducharme School and Dene High School read them. Some comments were disgusting and removed but not before thousands had read them.
The people of La Loche understand that violence sometimes happens in their community but they do not understand the abusive comments that were written.
