For almost two months, someone has been tearing through Kiwanis Park in Midwest City almost every night, leaving behind broken bathroom fixtures, smashed light bulbs, graffiti-covered picnic tables and overturned trash cans. The damage now totals about $2,000, and city officials are asking the public for help identifying who is responsible.
Debbie Chase walks through the 11.9-acre park along South Midwest Boulevard every day, sometimes twice, and she has watched the destruction pile up firsthand. She told News 9 that the vandalism makes her sad because she loves the park, describing bathroom damage, broken bulbs, graffiti scrawled across tables and trash cans knocked over during her walks. The vandalism has also hit electrical outlets and lighting fixtures throughout the grounds, according to the same report.
A Pattern That Won’t Let Up
City officials say the vandalism has occurred almost nightly for about two months, concentrated at the park’s skate park and pavilion, where graffiti has repeatedly appeared. Midwest City Police have received several tips and are following up on leads, per the outlet’s reporting, and Recreation Director Josh Ryan noted that the graffiti appears to have a distinctive style that could help identify whoever is behind it.
Cleaning up after the damage isn’t quick work. A crew of two or three people is needed each day just to keep the park’s pavilions, restrooms and skate park usable, the report notes. That cleanup burden lands on a Parks and Recreation Department that was already stretched thin this year — in May, Ryan told Hoodline that staffing shortages had forced emergency hiring drives just to keep the city’s recreation facilities open.
Why the Dollar Figure Matters Legally
Under Oklahoma law, the dollar amount at stake carries real legal weight. Oklahoma Statutes Title 21 § 1760 classifies malicious injury or destruction of property causing an aggregate loss of $1,000 or more as a felony, while anything below that threshold remains a misdemeanor, according to the Henson Law Firm, PLLC. At roughly $2,000 in damage, the Kiwanis Park case sits well past that line. The same statute also allows public entities like Midwest City to pursue civil recovery of treble, or triple, damages from anyone convicted of maliciously defacing or destroying public property, according to the Oklahoma Statutes…