Spokane7
53°
September 3, 2010 in City
Police patrol to deter sex activity near dog park
Gateway Regional Park near Stateline isn’t just drawing pet owners to the dog park. It’s also a hot spot for men to hook up and have sex in the open, often during the day.
Liberty Lake police officers, who have helped patrol the 31-acre Spokane County park along the Spokane River and Centennial Trail since it opened in 2006, have arrested two men for indecent exposure and encountered other men cruising for sexual encounters in the past three weeks.
The incidents were in a gravel parking area adjacent to the enclosed, three-acre dog park, amid vegetation between the dog park and the river.
On a recent Monday afternoon, police received a report of two men having sex in a car while people in other cars appeared to watch. The drivers scattered when Liberty Lake officers and Spokane County sheriff’s deputies arrived. One man was arrested for driving under the influence.
A Liberty Lake officer in plain clothes saw two men wander off into the trees together just after 5 p.m. on Aug. 26. He followed and found the two men having sex in the middle of a dirt path that runs parallel to the Centennial Trail. Both were arrested for indecent exposure.
To get an idea of how prevalent the problem is, Liberty Lake Officer Mark Van Hyning, dressed in plain clothes, sat in a civilian vehicle in the gravel parking lot Wednesday and was propositioned numerous times. The men wasted no time in small talk and were very explicit about what they wanted, he said.
“When they were contacting me, the verbiage that was used was amazing,” Van Hyning said. “I was amazed at how many contacts there were. A lot of these guys were pulling up with (child) car seats in the back of their cars, wedding rings on their fingers.”
Simply propositioning someone isn’t illegal, and Van Hyning made no arrests. If discussions had turned to payment, the men could have been arrested for prostitution. Also, people caught engaged in sex can be arrested for indecent exposure.
Officers in uniform stopped cars as they left on Wednesday to emphasize they were patrolling the area, Van Hyning said. “We’re trying to modify the behavior out there,” he said.
Some people use Craigslist to schedule hookups. Searching for Liberty Lake in the personals section of the website turns up a long list of sexually explicit ads, some with nude pictures. Other men just drive to Gateway Park and wait for someone else to show up.
Van Hyning said he was in the lot for four hours and a car would come through about every 10 minutes. “It’s a bigger issue than I thought it was back there,” he said. “I had no idea how bad it was.”
The gravel lot is not the main parking area for the dog park, but it is used by some park visitors.
Spokane County Park Ranger Bryant Robinson said he’s grateful for the police emphasis. He’s responsible for all the parks in Spokane County and makes a point to spend time in Gateway Park a couple times a week. He said he was a bit surprised by the level of activity Wednesday.
Many people use the park without incident, Robinson said. “Most visitors don’t have a problem,” he said. “We’re not having calls left and right.”
Liberty Lake police Sgt. Clint Gibson said the department will step up their patrols and conduct other emphasis events with plain-clothed officers.
“We’d like to try and do it at least once a week and we’ll switch up the days,” Gibson said. “You don’t catch that activity if you’re in a patrol car and in uniform.”
He’s concerned that the sexual activity is happening in visible areas in the middle of the day.
“It’s a public decency and a public safety issue,” Gibson said.
Remembering heroes 
Montauban on September 03 at 12:28 a.m.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
I cannot wait for the jokes to appear here…I have several, but I don’t want to be the first one!
lewis8457 on September 03 at 6:55 a.m.
As long as the men have the dogs consent what is the problem.
huffstuff on September 03 at 9:54 a.m.
My favorite:
“It’s a bigger issue than I thought it was back there.”
Awesome.
misjustice on September 03 at 10:22 a.m.
I have to wonder what the Liberty Lake officers assigned to this duty call it? Ought to be a chuckle or two there.
spuddlet on September 03 at 11:51 a.m.
no wonder I got all those strange looks when I actually took my dogs for a walk down by the river…..
william1977 on September 03 at 11:58 a.m.
Disgusting. I think those people involved in acts like that should have their mugs posted in the paper. Liberty Lake is no place for this. The community needs to rid the area of that scum.
zelda on September 03 at 12:49 p.m.
I used to enjoy taking my pups to the dog park when it first opened, but after a while it was hard to ignore the constant traffic of men in cars and pick-up trucks stopping along the river for hook-ups. One car pulls up, a guy gets out and disappears down the riverbank. Then another car arrives, occupant gets out and he also vanishes from view down the riverbank. After five or so minutes, they come back one by one and drive off. It goes on throughout the day.
The type of people frequenting the dog park also went downhill. They are irresponsible, don’t mind their dogs and just plant their butts on the park benches smoking and yakking on cellphones. Their dogs poop everywhere, don’t clean up the mess and the owners are highly offended if reminded of the dog park rules.
It’s really a shame after all the volunteer time, effort and dollars that went into creating Spokane County’s first and only off-leash park that it’s turned into a gathering place for low-lifes.
I think the gay cruising has been going on for a long time, however — ever since they cracked down on activity at the Post Falls rest stop.
And plans are underway for a second dog park. Wouldn’t you know it — the location is another gay cruising hangout, High Bridge Park. Sad.
Bucky on September 03 at 1:14 p.m.
Funny and disgusting, nice combo
MrNatural on September 03 at 2:56 p.m.
But officer you’re sadly mistaken
I was just calling for my dog
Why yes…his name is fellatio…is there a problem?
Montauban on September 03 at 3:24 p.m.
Start taking pictures of these “men” frequenting the park either or before or after they “disappear over the hill” and post them in the SR. What a sick society! And these are some of the ones who want to marry each other and demand legislation to make it a law and enforce it to adopt children and all?
misjustice on September 03 at 4:10 p.m.
Equal access under the law is a Constitutional ( as well as a human ) right. Marriage rights have nothing to do with public sex, sadly - or many Heterosexual marriages might survive the 50% divorce rate - (lol) but I digress, perhaps if gay people weren’t labeled and discriminated against and were, instead, acknowledged as the wonder people that they are, they wouldn’t have to seek a rendezvous in a dog park.
Having said that, many Heterosexuals can be seen cruising Sprague lookin’ for a little action; and I would bet that many are “married” (and that their wives don’t understand them, boo, hoo, hoo) and these frequenters of sex workers would be adamant about denying the right to marry to Homosexuals…all the while enjoying their hook-up from Sprague. But, but, but, that’s different, it’s “normal”! LMFAO! ; )
Talk about hypocrites!
misjustice on September 03 at 4:13 p.m.
Dog poop, now that’s a serious problem.
Alleged gay sex on the sly, whom does it harm?
zelda on September 03 at 5:09 p.m.
I support gay marriage and gay rights. But having sex in public places in broad daylight is offensive. Whether it’s a compulsion or thrill-seeking behavior, it’s not something beneficial in a public place. If you’re using the Centennial Trail or the dog park, I think you have a reasonable expectation to not see people — gay or straight — engaged in these acts. It creates an environment that invites drug-dealing, drug use and violence.
misjustice on September 03 at 5:20 p.m.
If they were, over the hill, as you stated they weren’t in plain site.
Look, I’m not advocating public sex, I was mostly responding to Montauban’s homophobic post.
How does public sex encourage drugs, violence, and dope dealing?
So Heterosexuals, seeking sex workers on Sprague, are responsible for drugs, violence and dope dealing? The hookers take their john’s not too far from Sprage to seal the deal, so to speak. At least now I know that Heterosexual males are the reason that Sprage Avenue is a dump!
zelda on September 03 at 5:39 p.m.
It’s kind of a “tipping point.” It sends a visual message that it’s an “anything goes here” zone and I tend to think that people who seek out random sexual encounters are perhaps seeking substances to enhance their, um, er, “experience.”
I think this gets to some of the issues that were brought up around the infamous Larry Craig incident. If you’re using a public restroom you have a reasonable expectation that what takes place there is bathroom stuff, not sex or soliciation for sex. So people at the Gateway Park have a reasonable expectation that it be used for what it was intended — walking or biking on the Centennial Trail, kayaking, and exercising dogs.
misjustice on September 03 at 5:59 p.m.
@ zelda, I understand your point (s). Thanks.