Saturday, July 10, 2010

City pools forced to hire armed security guards


The city of Buffalo recently had to hire armed security guards to control the unruly behavior going on at the public pools this week. From the Buffalo News:

Lifeguard Jacqueline Carlton climbed down from her 6-foot-high chair to try and restore order in the Masten Pool on Thursday when an older teenager yanked her by the ankles and pulled her into the water.
As the 16-year-old guard toppled into the pool, her head slammed against a drain and she was unable to navigate the water, not that it mattered.
"There were six or seven and they kept dunking me. I told them they needed to stop, that I hit my head and it's really hurting. They kept dunking me and I was swallowing water," Jacqueline said Friday, recalling how it took the head lifeguard to rescue her.


Maybe, as Rod Watson wrote a few weeks ago, they were just "sassing" the lifeguard because she was in a position of authority. How the city of Buffalo could put 16 year olds in charge of 18, 19, and 20 year old scumbags is a question an injury attorney will probably be asking a jury pretty soon. My question is, are these thugs going to be charged with assault? Probably not. Although they did commit an assault, charging them with one wouldn't be the politically correct thing to do.

Centennial Pool in LaSalle Park, JFK Pool at Clinton and Hickory streets and Masten Pool on Best Street were closed because of the problems. Two other city pools: Allison on Rees Street and Shoshone at the foot of Beard Avenue, were closed for about 30 minutes due to unruly behavior.

"When we tell them the pool is closing because of rowdy behavior, they get mad and just go crazy picking us up and throwing us in the pool," Jamilla said. "And it is not just teenagers doing it, it's young adults."
At Centennial Pool, which was rebuilt and opened last week after being closed seven years, fights and vandalism have marred the reopening.
Vandals broke into the locker rooms Thursday by breaking a window and, once inside, they scattered garbage and toilet paper, according to workers.


Where are the neighborhood leaders? Where are Darius Pridgeon and Damone Smith condemning this criminal behavior? The Centennial Pool has been open for less than a month and they're already destroying it. Why not? The kids (and adults) destroying it know they will simply be handed more things for free in the future. They'll never face any consequences for their actions. I feel bad for the mother in this article that wanted to bring her young daughter to teach her how to swim. The teenaged thugs ruin everything for the law abiding families. I disagree with Deputy Mayor Byron Brown's decision not to charge a small fee to use the pools:

Brown said he disagrees with some who suggest charging a fee to use city pools might weed out troublemakers. Taxpayers, the mayor said, already fund pool operations, and it would be unfair to impose fees.

Charge them $2 per day. Maybe they'll learn to appreciate the things they're given a little more. Taxpayers do fund the pool operations, but those causing problems are not taxpayers. Brown talks as if the riffraff that are knocking over lifeguards and causing property damage actually come from families that work and pay taxes. What planet is he from again?

City pools face unruly behavior : City & Region : The Buffalo News

No comments:

Post a Comment