Police calls to park area are increasing

With roughly a dozen other Newton teens relaxing underneath the brick arch of the Fred Maytag Pool Tuesday afternoon, Tyler Gilbert ollied with his skateboard landing on the curb.

The 18-year-old Newton Community Schools student is aware of the stigma with which the teens who hang out at Maytag Park in the afternoons and early evenings are labeled.

“I think that everybody that comes here just likes to hang out with friends. It’s a place to just come together, skateboarding, play some frisbee golf,” Gilbert said. “I think some people are (dumb), like see those windows are busted out. That’s dumb.”

This appears to be the sentiment shared by the Newton Police Department. The law enforcement agency confirmed Monday that over the last 12 months, vandalism and aggressive activity has been on the rise in Maytag Park and the surrounding neighborhoods. Property damage including graffiti, broken doors and windows on the pool house, coupled with reports of rude, and in rare cases, violent behavior, is causing public dissatisfaction with the young people around the facility.

“There are several groups of people out there that are causing trouble for John Q public,” Newton Police Chief Jeff Hoebelheinrich said. “I think most of the kids out there are not doing a whole lot of stuff, but there are some out there that are definitely more obnoxious than they were in the past, and they are confronting other people that are enjoying the park.”

Between 2010 and 2011 there has been a police service call increase of roughly 50 percent. Hoebelheinrich said this was not an official department study, and the rough estimate includes officers following up on old cases and traffic situations witnessed while the authorities are on patrol in the area. But the increase is a reflection of the negative activity reported in the area.

Police estimate the age range of Maytag Park offenders to be between 15 and 25 years old. In a recent incident that is still under investigation, Jasper County resident Kristi Brock’s SUV windshield was broken out while in the park — allegedly by an unidentified teen who Brock claims swung a skateboard at her vehicle.

Brock told police that the kids were blocking the roadway and yelling obscenities during the Sept. 27 event. She exited her car and tried to confront the group when, she claims, a girl blew cigarette smoke in her face. Her window was smashed while her back was to the vehicle.

Police were initially called to the scene at 7:16 p.m. referencing a simple assault in which the young female alleged that Brock smacked her after she exited her SUV.

Kristi’s husband and Jasper County Supervisor Joe Brock, who was not a direct witness to the events, said there was one teen who attempted to step in and calm the other youth.

Charges have not yet been filed in the case, but Hoebelheinrich said that the department is attempting to identify who broke the window.

“We don’t want (park-goers) to confront these people because we don’t know what these offenders are going to do,” he said.

Joe Brock said his family feels dissatisfied with how law enforcement have handled the case. Concerned with the time it’s taken police to investigate the incident, Brock said, “Newton Police is either unwilling or unable to counter this problem.”

Vandalism has been occurring in areas surrounding the park as well, including automobile break-ins and the defacing of houses with spray paint on Aug. 15 in the 900 and 1000 blocks of West Third Street South. Two teens allegedly caused $3,763 worth of damage to residential properties.

But with the increased patrols in the park and surrounding neighborhoods, it appears the department has begun taking steps to intercept the small group of offenders. One issue the city is having is a lack of willingness by reporting parties to make witness statements or agree to testify if these cases were to go to court.

“Trust me, I understand where people are coming from, but we cannot make cases without the public’s help, and that means we need a witness to state who did this.” Hoebelheinrich said. “If not, all we can do is go in there and the offenders stop doing what they’re doing. Then we have nothing to prosecute.”

The police department says it’s also a matter of prioritizing cases. With the manpower available, police say they are having to give precedence to issues such as domestic abuse or serious assaults over a vandalism.

Parks Superintendent Nathan Unsworth has also seen some damage to public property this summer at Maytag Park. He said that three steel doors valued between $400-$500 were kicked in at the pool house. Two windows on either side of the pool entrance, pointed out by Gilbert and his friends, have also been boarded up.

“We’re working closely with the police department,” Unsworth said. “If anyone sees anything going on, help to report these incidents. It’s a public problem, and it’s always in the public’s interest in keeping things up and going in the park to keep it family friendly.”

Although the reports continue to come in, the park is still the host to those family friendly events. Oct. 14 will bring a tailgate put on by Sacred Heart Church and the Knights of Columbus.

Tuesday afternoon saw a teen in her formal dress taking senior portraits at the park’s gate. While on the inside, Gilbert and his friends were either causally skating, talking or sitting around the pool structure.

A teen skating with Gilbert, who asked to remain anonymous, said that Maytag Park was more conducive to skateboarding, provides more space for kids and was closer to the school than the skate park constructed by the city in Aurora Park.

“The town raised so much money for our skate park, and all we got were two ramps and a rail,” he said. “And the trail from (Maytag) park leads straight from the high school.”

“If they’re so worried about us being here then they should have built a skate park where we can all hang out,” Gilbert said.

Mike Mendenhall can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 422 or via e-mail at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com.