SIOUX CITY, IA — Since off-duty Woodbury County Sheriff's deputies and Sioux City Police officers began patrolling Mid City Park in early June, people accustomed to sleeping and camping in the park overnight have been clearing out by the 9 p.m. closing time.
Previously, Deputy Sage Lewis said some people were using park benches as toilets, leaving empty bottles and other trash strewn about and causing disturbances.
"There were a lot of homeless that were sleeping there, going underneath the shelter that they have there. Cook Park was the same way. Now, they're all out of there at closing time," he said. "We let them know, 'There's a lot of other places you can go except for here. This is a park, and the park is closed.' Even though it's closed, we still have people that go out for fitness during the nighttime. They may run through that park, and they don't want to be harassed or asked for spare change."
Deputy Andrew Vogt said he thinks he and the other off-duty deputies and officers are making a difference.
"We've walked up and talked to the people that live across the street. They say traffic's been down," he said.
In March, the Sioux City Council voted to contract off-duty Woodbury County Sheriff's deputies to police the city's parks at an annual cost of $50,000, rather than hire a full-time parks enforcement officer for $155,033. Off-duty Sioux City police officers have also been volunteering for park patrols.
When Lewis is out patrolling the parks, he said he's working off-duty through CWA LOCAL 7177. However, the off-duty work has been approved by Sheriff Chad Sheehan.
"We still have our power to arrest," Lewis said. "If we come up with an off-duty job, we have to get permission from our sheriff. We're representing the sheriff at all times."
In addition to Mid City and Cook parks, Sioux City Parks and Recreation Director Matt Salvatore said patrols are also being conducted at Chris Larsen and Riverside parks, as well as any other parks where "trouble with issues" is occurring.
"I think we've just seen an overall increase in vandalism in our parks and people utilizing the parks the way that they're not intended to be used. This effort was helping to clean that up," Salvatore said of the park patrols. "I think it's really helped. I've gotten compliments from neighbors that live near certain parks. I think just having the presence and the communication with people that are utilizing the parks has been a benefit."
Off-duty deputies and officers usually patrol the parks between 7 and 11 p.m. or 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, but Lewis said the hours can vary. They are dressed in their uniforms when they arrive at the parks in marked patrol vehicles.
"We'll park and get out and walk the park," Lewis said. "Myself and some other deputies were kind of going around and picking up garbage one night. It's a park. Kids don't need to be coming across empty beer cans and any cigarette butts that people left over."
Interacting with people experiencing homelessness and finding individuals with large campers are common place for those on patrol after dusk. Sioux City parks close at 9 p.m., unless the parks contain a shelter that can be rented out. Parks with rental shelters are open until 11 p.m.
"We've had people just show up with campers, like old 1970s campers," Vogt said. "It's not a campground."
Lewis said the majority of people he encounters at closing time heed his orders to disperse. In fact, at the time of this interview, he said he was only aware of one parks enforcement arrest, which was made by an off-duty Sioux City officer. Lewis said an "extremely intoxicated" individual, who was refusing to leave the park, was arrested.
"It really works — the type of policing that we're doing at these places. It's a positive impact, especially for the people that live around those areas," Lewis said. "You wouldn't believe how many times people come outside their houses, and they say, 'Thank you,' and they start telling us horror stories about what was taking place."
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