Portage Police Chief Mike Candiano issued the following statement regarding an injury that happened to a 16-year-old female at Founder’s Square Park:
“On May 31st at approximately 8:04 pm, Portage Police and Portage Fire were dispatched to Founder’s Square park for a “16 year old female, who fell off a piece of playground equipment”. PPD Officers arrived on scene and spoke with several witnesses who stated the female was going too fast on a circular swing and fell off. The witnesses stated they did not observe any deliberate “nefarious” acts and felt it was an accident.
The female was in obvious pain and did not provide a statement to PPD. However, she advised PFD medics she was injured after being “thrown from a rotating piece of playground equipment.” She was treated on scene by PFD and transported to a local medical facility. A PPD Officer spoke with the female’s parent and advised them of the incident and the medical transport details. At that time there was no evidence indicating there was crime necessitating a further investigation.
This morning, it was brought to my attention there was a Facebook post, detailing the female’s injuries, but also alleging this was a criminal act and requesting assistance from the public with identifying the perpetrators. The post generated a lot of comments from one extreme to the next and many that called for a further investigation and response from PPD
Out of a concern something had mistakenly been misreported at the time, our team began reviewing bodycam footage and park surveillance camera footage. We determined the following:
Founder’s Square has a circular rotating piece of equipment with 3 “swings” attached around the outside of a center pole. The injured female and a friend arrived at the park and proceeded to the swing. They then watched as an unidentified female was spun around on the swing by two unidentified young males. The boys were able to rotate the swing faster by spinning the center pole. At no time, did they make any physical contact with any of the “riders”.
Once this female was done, the injured female’s friend got on the swing and was spun around by the boys in the same manner. They were able to achieve a decent amount of speed and she was spinning nearly horizontal to the ground.
After several passes, she got off the swing and the injured female got on. Again, the boys spun her around and as she also approached a nearly horizontal position, she flew off the swing. A group of playground patrons, including the aforementioned boys, then went to check on her. The female’s father and 911 were also subsequently called.
At this point, all available information indicates this was an accident with no malicious intent and no criminal activity. We fully understand how information can become misconstrued during and after a traumatic incident. Unfortunately, in this case, some of that misinformation went viral and we felt it was important to inform the public there was no criminal activity.
Based on the earlier posts, it’s my understanding this female sustained significant injuries and our thoughts are with her and family as we wish her a full recovery. I hope the members of our community will refrain from making further negative and false statements regarding this incident and channel their energy toward thoughts of a full recovery.
Chief Candiano”