Liberty Aquatic Center closed Sunday after assault, harassment of employees

Liberty Aquatic Center in the East Central neighborhood was closed Sunday after reports of an assault and harassment directed against pool employees caused some to fear returning to work.

On Saturday, a pair of employees reported two separate incidents that occurred Thursday involving at least two juvenile suspects, said Spokane Police Officer Teresa Fuller. One employee working the front counter was apparently punched in the face. Another employee reported that a different suspect threatened “to break her jaw” and “find out where she lives and beat up her family,” Fuller said.

Police say there are mentions in the report of a gun, but they would not divulge who it belonged to, or if it was used in the altercation. One suspect reportedly had a history of threatening at least one of the victims in the past, and had been previously kicked out of the pool and banned from returning, police say.

City and pool officials held a meeting Saturday where they decided to call employees and parents of employees who are under 18, to see if they felt comfortable working on Sunday. Carl Strong, supervisor of aquatics and rentals at Spokane Parks and Recreation, said enough didn’t feel comfortable returning to work, so they closed the pool for a day.

“This one seemed to affect some staff on a more personal level,” he said. “We wanted to make sure we were good to go.”

On Monday, the pool was reopened with Spokane Police Officer Jennifer DeRuwe patrolling the center. DeRuwe was present before the doors opened at 1 p.m., and could be seen monitoring the pool’s interior and perimeter fencing. Strong said police will continue to monitor the pool through the end of the week.

“We are taking steps at security,” he said. “We want to make sure people feel comfortable working there.”

Strong said any staff that did not feel comfortable working at that location could request to move.

Police say they have identified the two suspects involved in this case. As of Tuesday, neither has been arrested.