They potentially could have issued many more, as mobs of escorted youth used the festival — intended to spotlight what there is to offer downtown, Wright Dunbar and the Oregon District — as an excuse to run amok.
Problem area
As in times past, the Regional Transit Authority bus hub on Third Street was the center of the activity that included fighting, use of sexually explicit language and playing in traffic, according to police.
While the commotion went unnoticed by many, customers at one tavern near the epicenter complained about being threatened by teens pretending to play the knockout game.
Others in the area saw a wall rowdy kids being pushed toward the bus hub by police.
Police ended up blocking Jefferson Street between Third and Fourth streets.
To be fair, not every kid in that area — there were between 100 and 300 depending on who you ask — was causing trouble. Many of them were simply caught up in the drama.
Lt. Colonel Robert Chabali, the Dayton police department’s assistant chief, said that the episode is not representative of what happens downtown.
"It is a a great event that is about bringing people downtown to showcase the positives, and there are a lot," Chabali said of Urban Nights, a street party of sorts. "We have to thoroughly review what we are going to do after this as as city — not just as police."
Where was the supervision?
It is not just the kids who deserve a talking to when it comes to what happened during Urban Nights.
“Take responsibility for your children,” Chabali urged. “Where are the parents in this?”
Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, the co-chair of the Downtown Dayton Partnership — the organization that plans Urban Nights — said merchants in Wright Dunbar and the Oregon District generally see Urban Nights as a positive and reported having a successful night Friday.
But she said the future of the event and what happens when Urban Nights closes — when much of the trouble happens — will be discussed and evaluated with members of the business community to find a better way forward. Most officials events ended at 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.
The Taste of the Miami Valley wrapped up at 11 p.m.
Whaley said technology and connectivity likely played a role in how the students knew to flock to certain locations.
“We are going to see more and more of kids being able to text and being able to get where they want to be really, really quickly,” she said.
There are family-friendly Urban Night events, but the festival is clearly not intended for escorted minors. With a strong emphasize of art galleries, bars, restaurants and downtown housing, it is not exactly kid-centric.
Dayton Public Schools in past years has offered special youth parties in the parking lot of its administration building on Ludlow Street.
Those events were by and large poorly attended and expensive to pull off, officials have said. No party was offered this year.
Even still, Whaley said this was not just a matter of kids having nothing else to do.
“There were activities across the city Friday night that were very kid-friendly that had to do with high school and had to do with activities going on,” she said. “It is a question of parents not knowing where their children are and (teens) going somewhere without a purpose. When that happens, I think you get some issues.”
Such unruly behavior is not acceptable, but you cannot blame kids for gravitating toward the excitement even if it is not exactly for them. You also cannot to be surprised when some of them get out of control when there is no supervision.
I’ve sometimes wondered where the parents are during past Urban Nights and downtown events such as the city’s Independence Day Fireworks. Groups of kids fought then, too. I saw several run down the middle of city streets as police cruisers swarmed.
The problem is not just at nightfall.
Who are the mothers and fathers who allow their daughters to wander downtown streets in full-on hoochie mama attire swearing to their friends?
Where are the mothers and fathers while their sons menacing adults in an attempt to seem cool?
More feet on the street
The answer is unfortunately not always as simple as parents not knowing where kids are.
While many of the out of control kids’ parents were sleeping at the wheel Friday, some “parents” never learned how to parent in the first place. Too many kids have never been taught right from wrong — not really.
We can blame the parents, but where does that get us in the face of the those facts?
Tommy Owens suggests the city and organizing groups take a closer look at what activities the city offers during Urban Nights and other times.
Owens was among the 35 members of a volunteer group known at the Street Soldiers, which partnered with Dayton police during this year’s Urban Nights.
The community organizer, an advocate of prevention over intervention, said the yellow T-shirt clad volunteers aimed to be a link between police and teens and mentor the youth.
Owens said many programs offered to youth are poorly marketed or not truly what kids want.
“You have to see what they are interested in,” he said. “If you have a program and kids don’t know about it, what is the point?”
Owens said there was trouble, but his group was able to help defuse several situations Friday.
More Street Soldiers and adults — particularly women — are needed to combat what is a complicated issue, he said.
“We can’t be scared of them,” he said. “We were talking to them. We were mentoring them.”
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