Observer of incident at water park beach questions its escalation

Jun. 8—Decatur police said they confronted a group of boaters at Point Mallard Aquatic Center's beach Sunday because they were disturbing the park's patrons, but officers' use of physical restraint and pepper spray led one witness to say the incident shouldn't have escalated as it did.

Video from a portion of the incident was posted on social media and showed officers trying to restrain boaters while being splashed and subjected to obscenities. The video of the incident, which occurred at about 5:30 p.m., showed at least four boats and more than a dozen people on Wheeler Lake just off the beach.

"I don't think two police officers should have been sent down there by theirselves to a crowd that large," said Brandon Henson, 33, of Decatur, who was on the lake during the incident.

"That was the main mistake, not necessarily toward the Police Department or anybody. You have those (boaters) that were popping off like you hear in the video and it just leads from one thing to the next, but at the same time, a police officer is supposed to keep calm and not make the situation worse."

The incident resulted in the arrest of four people from Morgan County and one from Lauderdale County on misdemeanor charges, and police said more charges are possible. One of the reasons police intervened was that the boaters were playing loud music.

Henson said what should have been a minor incident turned into "chaos."

"For really no reason, other than the music," Henson said.

Video, apparently shot by someone farther from the beach than those involved in the incident, was shared on social media, with about three minutes of the footage uploaded to the video-sharing app TikTok.

At the beginning of the original eight-minute video, two Decatur police officers were standing at the beach with a crowd of people, and they later escorted one man to the shore. As they made their way to the shore, another man started splashing water on the officers, causing one of the officers to chase the man into the water.

Several people in the crowd can be heard in the video telling the police, "You're not water police, you're Decatur (Police Department)."

In a statement released Monday, the Decatur Police Department said waters near or around Point Mallard are within city limits.

"All state laws and Decatur Municipal Ordinances that are in effect on land are enforceable by the Decatur Police Department on all waterways that are within the city limits," the statement said.

Point Mallard water park officials say boaters are not supposed to be docked at the beach area.

"There's signage at the beach that says no docking, no swimming, and no trespassing," said Nicole Belcher, marketing and events director at Decatur Parks & Recreation. "The signage has been there since the beach area closed in 2019."

Belcher said people docking their boats and swimming in the beach area has been a "continual, growing problem."

The police statement said park employees have been dealing with similar incidents with boaters in the beach area since May 14. Three incidents occurred last month that involved boaters drinking and smoking marijuana.

On the video from Sunday's incident, one of the officers is seen speaking with a female on the shore, but their conversation is not audible. The officer then tries to arrest the female as she retreats into the water and he physically restrains her.

The police statement said, "When he attempted to take her into custody for open container, he was grabbed by two other females in order to prevent her arrest. Pepper gas was sprayed on the females, one was taken into custody, while the others got away."

The first encounter between police and boaters occurred about 1:30 p.m. Sunday when park employees complained to police that boaters were drinking, smoking marijuana, playing loud and profane music, and littering. When officers arrived on scene, they did not witness any criminal activity and asked boaters to move away from the beach. The boaters complied.

"Later, at about 5:30 p.m., managers of the water park received complaints from patrons ... that the boaters were back on the beach, drinking, smoking marijuana, cussing and playing loud, obscene music to the point that the patrons were about to leave the park and never return," the police statement said.

Henson said he arrived outside the park after 1 p.m. and said there was one boat docked at the beach area that was playing loud, profane music whom employees contacted police about. He was swimming in the beach area when two officers arrived on the scene.

"I can completely see the guests at Point Mallard being aggravated about that," Henson said. "If I had my kids out there, I probably would be, too."

Henson said individuals taken into custody weren't clear on the reasons for their arrests, which made the situation worse.

"They just started grabbing people and telling them they were going to jail and it's like, 'What are we going to jail for?'" Henson said. "Two of the people I know that were arrested were charged with public intoxication, but they weren't even given a sobriety test."

Morgan County Sheriff's Office spokesman Mike Swafford said deputies and the department's boat were called to assist the Decatur police. He said officers with the Sheriff's Office talked with individuals aboard three boats, but they ultimately left without incident.

Belcher said Mayor Tab Bowling made the 2019 directive to close the beach area at the water park's edge to boaters.

"At the time, it was a safety issue," Belcher said. "They had some different reasons with alligators and the fact that there are guards having to guard that water down there."

As a result of Sunday's incident, a 42-year-old Waterloo man was charged with harassment, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. A 20-year-old Trinity woman was charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest. A 29-year-old Hartselle man was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. A 25-year-old Decatur man and 26-year-old Trinity man were each charged with public intoxication.

— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.