A 19-year-old man from Fort Erie was charged with cause of disturbance by fighting, assaulting a peace officer, disarming a peace officer and resisting arrest.

Officers in the Fleming Drive area observed a fight and pulled up in their vehicle to break up the fight.

“They pulled up thinking that the vehicle itself – their presence – would disperse the crowd,” said Const. Ken Steeves, media relations officer for the London Police Service. “It didn’t.”

The officers did successfully break up the fight, but then the female officer was punched in the back of the head.

“The male grabbed her holster – her firearm,” Steeves said. “He was ultimately arrested by the officers and hew as subsequently charged with criminal offenses.”

To the LPS’s knowledge, the man was not a student in London.

Steeves says incidents like this are rare, but that the officer handled herself well.

“We’re trained to keep our firearm,” he said. “We’re trained on what to do if, and she responded appropriately and accordingly. She did a good job.”

“Your training kicks in and you’re able to use the training you’ve received and essentially do what’s needed to get it done.”

Halloween weekend was a busy one for the LPS.

“We had a couple stabbings,” Steeves said. “The victim in [one] case did not wish to have any police involvement … there was another one where somebody was stabbed in the abdominal area. Charges were laid in that.”

“Overall it was a fairly busy weekend.”

The officer who was assaulted received minor injuries.