Shooting At Ford Park Raises Safety Concerns In Shreveport

A deadly shooting at Ford Park in Shreveport has local leaders angry and frustrated about what needs to be done to keep these public areas safe.

A 19-year-old man was shot multiple times Sunday night during a shootout in the park. Police have reported finding 70 shell casings from 3 different guns on the scene. Police Chief Wayne Smith says there are dedicated offices to the parks, but they were not present at Ford Park when this took place. He says many of these officers were on other serious calls around the city.

Credit: Erin McCarty

One officer was nearby at Yarborough and South Lakeshore and he actually heard some of the shots and responded immediately. The Chief was questioned about why cameras are not in these parks. And he told the City Council the mobile cameras are moved around the city and put in places where they are deemed a priority. But he also added that after dark, the park has no lighting and the cameras would not see much.

Should Shreveport Parks Be Closed Earlier?

Right now the parks stay open until 9pm, but some councilmembers have suggested that be pushed back to 8pm. SPAR Director Shelly Ragle is also frustrated about what’s happening in the parks and around the city. She says:

"Just remember if we start to close earlier, the people who use the park for the right reasons will get affected too.”

Credit: Erin McCarty

Ragle adds: “It's very frustrating. We have a lot of families who enjoy our parks for the right reasons and this is very frustrating to all of us. It is not just at Ford Park. We're having problems everywhere. We’re having problems with vandalism at many of our facilities including our swimming pools.”

Ragle got emotional as she told the council that it’s a shame that parents who take their children out to enjoy our parks for the right reasons will be losing hours when they could enjoy our parks. She says it is quite frustrating to deal with this every summer.

Shreveport has 17 parks that have gates to close and a private company goes around each night to lock up the gates. She says often that company has to call the police in to help close the parks when there are too many people still using the parks.