A 16-year-old girl suffered significant injuries after falling from a rotating swing at a Portage park last week. Police say the incident was an accident, not a criminal act, after a viral Facebook post alleged otherwise.

Portage Police Chief Mike Candiano issued a detailed statement Wednesday addressing the incident that happened at Founder's Square Park on May 31.

"On May 31st at approximately 8:04 pm, Portage Police and Portage Fire were dispatched to Founder's Square park for a '16 year old female, who fell off a piece of playground equipment'."

According to Candiano's statement, officers arrived and spoke with witnesses who said the teenager was going too fast on a circular swing and fell off. The witnesses reported they did not see any deliberate acts.

The girl told Portage Fire Department medics she was "thrown from a rotating piece of playground equipment." She was treated on scene and transported to a local medical facility. A Portage Police officer spoke with her parent and provided medical transport details.

At the time of the incident, police said there was no evidence of a crime.

A viral post sparks rumors

The situation changed when a Facebook post surfaced, detailing the girl's injuries and alleging the incident was a criminal act. The post asked the public to help identify perpetrators.

"The post generated a lot of comments from one extreme to the next and many that called for a further investigation and response from PPD," Candiano wrote.

Candiano said his team reviewed body camera footage and park surveillance video to determine what happened.

What the video showed

Founder's Square Park has a circular rotating piece of equipment with three swings attached around a center pole. According to the police review, the injured girl and a friend arrived at the park and went to the swing.

They watched as an unidentified female was spun around on the swing by two unidentified young males. The boys rotated the swing faster by spinning the center pole. Police said the boys did not make physical contact with the riders.

After that ride, the injured girl's friend got on the swing and was spun by the boys in the same way. She spun nearly horizontal to the ground.

Then the injured girl got on. The boys spun her around. As she approached a nearly horizontal position, she flew off the swing. A group of park patrons, including the boys, checked on her. The girl's father was called and 911 was contacted.

Police: No criminal activity

Candiano concluded that all available information indicated the incident was an accident with no malicious intent and no criminal activity.

"We fully understand how information can become misconstrued during and after a traumatic incident. Unfortunately, in this case, some of that misinformation went viral and we felt it was important to inform the public there was no criminal activity."

Candiano noted the girl sustained significant injuries and offered his thoughts to her and her family.

"I hope the members of our community will refrain from making further negative and false statements regarding this incident and channel their energy toward thoughts of a full recovery."

The Portage Police Department has not released the girl's name or specific details about her injuries.

Tags: Portage, Portage Police, Founder's Square Park, public safety

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