Police body cam video captures chaotic Worlds of Fun brawl that teens appeared to plan
Days after a series of brawls that broke out at Worlds of Fun, questions continued to swirl about unsupervised teens, the number of those involved and what likely prompted the skirmishes that were captured on cellphone video.
Worlds of Fun officials have pushed back against law enforcement estimates that 300 teens were involved, suggesting that many of them were mere onlookers and not participants in the mayhem.
The Star has obtained dispatch audio recordings, 12 body camera videos and 15 incident reports that provide a broader picture of what happened that evening on April 20.
Additionally, authorities now say they believe threatening exchanges, which played out on social media, may have led to the series of fights and scuffles that played out across the amusement park.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow did The Star get these police documents and video?
The Star obtained the police incident reports and body camera videos from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office by making a request using Missouri’s Sunshine Law. Staff members, Glenn Rice and Jason Boatright, read through and reviewed incident reports and body camera video to report this story.
The result was a chaotic mess that unfolded at Worlds of Fun with dozens of sheriff’s deputies, police officers and other security workers responding to multiple fights and seeking to bring calm to an unruly crowd of more than 300 teens.
“We’re pushing a crowd of about 200 towards the entrance and they’re breaking out into fights, OK maybe closer to 300,” a deputy announced on a police radio.
The Clay County Sheriff dispatcher responded: “We’ve got a citywide, people are coming to help. They are pushing a crowd of about 300 out of the park.”
Soon dozens of law enforcement officers from the Missouri Highway Patrol, Kansas City, Liberty, Gladstone, North Kansas City, Pleasant Valley and from as far south as Lee’s Summit and Raytown converged on the amusement park.
Body camera video captured deputies pushing and shoving their way through the crowd of teens and families to break up various skirmishes.
“Let’s go, let’s go,” one deputy is heard saying.
“Keep on going. Go! Go! Go!” another deputy shouted. And another deputy is seen chasing down a teen. Several deputies can also been seen in a tussle with a female teen.
For reasons that appear unclear in the video, several deputies approach a young-looking man with his arms slightly raised. A female deputy stepped forward and pushed him, causing him to fall backward.
He shouted: “Get up off of me,” the video shows. The man then jumped to his feet and stepped backward a second time with his arms raised.
“Get on the ground now. Get on the ground now,” a deputy shouted.
The man shouted profanities as another deputy brandished a stun gun and pointed the laser at his torso.
Then another deputy swiped his leg, causing him to topple backward onto the ground. The female deputy and other deputies immediately pounced on the man and placed him in handcuffs.
Regarding this particular incident, Capt. Will Akin with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office said the man had tried to push a deputy and was immediately detained. He was removed from the scene and later released, Akin said.
“Our professional standards unit reviewed the footage and found that the deputies were within the sheriff’s office’s policy for detaining someone to prevent the situation from escalating any further,” he said.
Several deputies reported a number of teens tried to entice and provoke them, shouting profanity and yelling, “you can’t do anything to us.”
One deputy wrote in a follow-up report: “As deputies and security approached the groups fighting, they would flare, running through the park and it was very difficult if not impossible to determine who the parties were fighting and who was watching.”
Another deputy reported seeing teens run through landscaping, jumping on retaining walls and blocking the thoroughfare. Some gathered on sidewalks and either blocked or stood in the path of other park attendees.
Deputies often found themselves surrounded by dozens of unruly teens.
“We were grossly outnumbered and in a very compromising position,” a deputy noted.
At the end of the evening, deputies, police and Worlds of Fun security staff responded to several pockets of sparring teens.
“The concern that we had was when officers and security staff were trying to break up fights and they were pulling juveniles in, their friends were trying to pull the juveniles away from deputies and security,” Akin said.
“If they are getting that brazen then we are going to call more people in; who knows what would have happened next,” he said. “Someone tried to push to a deputy. When that happens, enough is enough.”
No injuries were reported on April 20. And only one teen, Howard Christopher Walters of Lee’s Summit, was ticketed for disturbing the peace. The 17-year-old is scheduled to appear in court on June 5, according to court records.
Fights and skirmishes that broke out at the amusement park are not uncommon. However, this brawl appeared to be a coordinated effort, fueled by social media, according to authorities.
Teens used Snapchat to make threats, alert their friends and announce the time and location inside the park where fights would take place. This was accomplished without tipping off security.
“By the time it was brought to our attention, there were already 50 to 100 people standing there watching a fight,” Akin said.
Days after the incident, Worlds of Fun officials said they had banned nine season passes that belonged to minors involved in the sparring. Authorities now say that after reviewing video, park officials pushed the number of revoked season passes to 20.
Chris Foshee, spokesman for Worlds of Fun, did not immediately confirm that number.
“If you behave and follow the rules, everything will be fine,” Foshee said. “Other than that you will be escorted out of the park. It is pretty simple.”
Foshee also said the total number of youth involved in the brawls was over exaggerated.
For decades, Kansas City has wrestled with identifying safe, affordable weekend entertainment options for youth.
Worlds of Fun recently has become a viable and affordable destination spot for teens, said Kamisha Stanton, violent crimes program coordinator for Kansas City.
Parents can buy a seasonal pass for $120, which can be paid through installments. This gives the recipient unlimited access to Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. Meals can be added for an additional fee.
“I think some parents, who don’t have other things for kids to do, would rather have them somewhere where they feel they are safe and be involved in something rather than have them sit at home all day,” Stanton said.
Stanton, whose job was created through a Kansas City anti-violence task force, said she is working with city, civic groups and corporate leaders to connect teens to summer jobs and internships.
“The fact that we already had this take place in the spring is a little bit of a precursor of what’s going to take place this summer,” she said. “I wish they could take part in something more productive instead of spending their whole day at Worlds of Fun which isn’t really productive.”
Akin said law enforcement agencies are seeking to avoid unruly crowds of teens congregating in shopping and entertainment venues throughout the city, including Worlds of Fun.
“We are confident that our response plan is solid,” Akin said. “Don’t expect law enforcement or the security staff at Worlds of Fun to be your babysitter and that is what is happening.”
This story was originally published May 10, 2019 at 2:20 PM.
