More than 230 charges laid, 18 arrested during St. Patrick’s Day gathering in Waterloo

Unsanctioned event was ‘significantly larger’ than 2022, which drew about 4,000 people, police say

Police laid more than 230 charges and arrested 18 people during Friday’s unsanctioned St. Patrick’s Day street parties in Waterloo.

Waterloo Regional Police released the statistics Tuesday. Of the 232 charges laid between 8 a.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday, 19 were Criminal Code or Controlled Drugs and Substances Act charges.

A 19-year-old male from Dundas was charged with two counts of assaulting police, obstructing police and mischief under $5,000 after two officers responded to a property damage call on Marshall Street; the officers suffered minor injuries.

Thousands of students filled streets, sidewalks and porches in the university district on Friday, undaunted by the fact their traditional party location, Ezra Avenue, was fenced off from King Street to Albert Street.

A police spokesperson said it will take some time to calculate a crowd estimate, “but at this time we can