More Tracy Park Troubles

More trouble hit Tracy Park over the weekend, with police called for a possible meth offer, people camping in the park, and a wanted man later arrested on a parole violation. Just after 3 a.m., a caller reported that a man with gray-brown hair and a grocery cart had a bag of crystal meth and tried to offer it to him. The caller also said he saw something black with a handle and thought it could have been a gun. The man was reportedly with two other men on the 10th Street side of the park. Officers walked through Tracy Park and found people near the stage matching the description. Police spoke with the group and advised all parties. No arrest was listed in that call. The park is supposed to be closed at night, but that has not stopped people from gathering there after hours, camping out, and leaving trash behind. Around noon the next day, callers reported people at a picnic table near the pickleball court at Mound Park snorting drugs. By the time officers arrived, the people were gone. About an hour later, police did another walkthrough at Tracy Park after an angry caller reported that a man was “camping out” there and said someone needed to remove him because children were there to play. Later that night, police stopped a man in Tracy Park and discovered he was wanted through the Department of Adult Parole. Officers detained the man and confirmed the parole violation was valid. Police arrested David Evans on the parole violation and booked him into the Scioto County Jail. Evans is on parole for two felonious assault charges and was released on parole last October. For residents, parents, and people who just want to use the park, the calls show the growing frustration around Tracy Park. A public park is supposed to be a place for kids, families, walkers, and community events — not a place where people report meth, possible weapons, overnight camping, trash, and wanted offenders. At the same time, officers are dealing with the same hard reality again and again: homelessness, addiction, untreated mental health issues, and criminal behavior are all landing in the same public spaces. Police can walk through. They can advise people. They can arrest someone with a warrant. But unless the bigger problems are addressed, Tracy Park keeps turning into the place where all of it shows up.

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