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Police added at carnival after threats of retaliation
BOARDMAN
Two uniformed officers will be stationed at a carnival at Southern Park Mall this weekend after rumors of violence surfaced on social media, the township police chief says.
Chief Jack Nichols said he and Jon Holloway, supervisory special agent of the Youngstown FBI who heads the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force, met with mall personnel Thursday to plan additional security.
Although specific details haven’t been discussed, the most-common rumor is that retaliation is planned for the Tuesday killings of 17-year-old Juanetta Franklin and 20-year-old Pako Lacey.
Township Administrator Jason Loree estimated the cost of calling out two officers for the weekend shifts at about $640.
The chief says the department takes all threats seriously, but social media have helped rumors spread quickly.
In the past year, rumors on social media have caused police to add security near supposed targeted locations of violence, and in January 2011, officers responded to Boardman High School when about 300 students were absent because of rumored violence at the school.
“With social media and texting, everyone adds their own piece to the story, so it doesn’t take much to get a community whipped into a frenzy,” Nichols said.
The addition of Boardman officers to the mall grounds is a change from Nichols’ earlier position that officers would patrol the streets near the carnival, close enough to respond immediately if needed. He said he wanted to take extra precautions because of the rumors.
Eric Bates, co-owner of Bates Bros. Amusement Co. that organizes the event, has said uniformed security guards paid by his company will patrol the carnival.
Loree said Friday he has been instructed by trustees to consult the township’s home-rule attorney to determine if new legislation could be created to limit or prohibit for-profit carnivals, such as the one at the mall.
Trustees would like nonprofit organizations, such as local churches and the American Cancer Society, to be exempt, Loree said.
Bates did apply for and received a permit for the event from the township zoning office. The township’s land-use laws permit circuses, fairs, carnivals and similar uses in a commercial district, which includes the mall’s location.
“What happens is that the township — and by extension taxpayers — has to supplement providing security,” Loree said. “At the end of this, I will put together a cost and make it public and I hope that Bates, and the mall would be willing to help out.”
The last time a fight broke out at the mall carnival was in 2010 and the township called out officers on overtime. Loree said after that incident, neither the mall nor the carnival company offered to help pay for the overtime costs.
“The mall has been a good neighbor in the past, and I hope we can work past this and move forward,” Loree said.