An incident caught on video and shared on social media shows a confrontation between a man and Barrie police near a playground at a busy city park Wednesday afternoon, where the man chases down and leaps onto the reversing cruiser.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, city police responded to a report of an individual acting erratically in Sunnidale Park, although it remains unclear exactly what happened before police arrived.
Barrie police communications co-ordinator Jennett Mays explained how the incident unfolded when officers got to the scene.
“Upon arrival, the male was acting aggressively toward the police vehicle on scene," she told BarrieToday. "Attending officers were able to restrain the male and apprehend him under the Mental Health Act, taking him to a local hospital to receive further support."
Mays said the investigation is ongoing and no charges have been laid against the 21-year-old man.
Videos of the incident were captured by onlookers, with one person capturing much of the confrontation between the man and police.
In a series of videos shot by Jocelyn Buitenhuis, the incident begins with the man face-to-face with a police car on the grass of the Sunnidale Road park, not far from a playground area where kids can be seen in the distance on the swings and running around.
Buitenhuis told BarrieToday she was sitting in her parked car, was on her phone and happened to look up to see the commotion.
“Through the trees, I saw the man in the video chasing and taunting the officer in the police car. I pulled my car up a bit so I could see what was going on better, as I thought I was seeing things,” she said Thursday. “Then I saw the guy punch the police car hood a few times, and he was just yelling 'ahhh!' and I realized something was indeed going on.
"I decided to turn the camera on, as I was worried for the officer and the people in the park. It's not everyday you happen to witness things like this," Buitenhuis said.
In the video, the man slowly approaches the police cruiser, which begins to back up. In another video posted to social media, he yells "you know who I am!" and then runs toward the car, jumping at the reversing vehicle and grabbing the grille. He then begins to slam the hood several times with his fists as the car continues to reverse toward the parking lot near the Dorian Parker Centre.
The police car eventually comes to a stop and the man lets go. The officer drives away as the man continues to yell; the car circles him and ends back between the man and the playground area.
“The officers on scene responded to the situation in a manner that would ensure the safety of those involved as well as the public in the area," Mays said.
As the man walked toward Sunnidale Road, sirens can be heard in the background and other police vehicles begin to arrive. At that point, two police vehicles park between the man and the playground area before officers exit their vehicles and approach the man, who is now standing near the sidewalk.
Mays said officers exited their vehicles to ensure the man didn’t walk onto Sunnidale Road.
The video loses sight of the man and when he is shown again, he's sitting on the ground with one officer in sight who appears to be talking to him.
Just before the second video ends, a third police vehicle is seen arriving at the scene.
The start of the third video shows two officers trying to subdue the man with two more officers eventually arriving to assist.
Buitenhuis said she turned her camera off when the man was sitting on the sidewalk because she thought the incident was over. However, she looked up to see officers restraining him and started filming again.
The man is taken into custody and the video ends with him lying on the ground and the officers beside him.
“I hope the guy accepts the help he needs,” said Buitenhuis. “The police did a great job.”
