MEMPHIS, Tenn. — MPD and the city of Memphis are sending a message to pool jumpers.
Hopping the fence after hours is dangerous and it could land you in trouble.
“When you enter the facility and no one is there, you can have a bad situation happen,” Col Greg Sanders, with the Memphis Police Department, said.
Police say they are ready to go if they see suspicious activities once the gates close.
“If dispatched, we will enforce trespassing,” Col. Sanders said.
They want to make sure no lives are lost this summer.
“They just do it. They don’t think until after,” parent Leandrea Campbell said.
Campbell brought her two kids to the pool on Wednesday.
She says she still remembers hearing about the 13-year-old who drowned in 2015 while taking a dip in a community pool after hours.
“One year someone drowned from jumping over the fence,” Campbell said. “There was no one there to save him once the life guards were off duty.”
Shanna Riley says she used to be one of those rule breakers.
Fortunately, nothing ever happened to her. But, as a parent, she realizes the danger of those actions.
“We would get a bunch of kids from out block and find a swimming pool that looks easy to get into. We would jump over and go for it,” she said. “It’s not safe at all. I would not recommend it to anyone’s child.”
Police officers say staying out of trouble is one part of it–saving lives is the other.
As an extra precaution, police officers say learning how to swim won’t hurt when it comes to pool safety.
Lessons are offered at each community center.
