Several Wichita residents went to the City Council Tuesday to protect actions by police in dealing with two teenagers during a weekend disturbance at a south side skating rink.

A 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl were arrested Saturday evening at a rink in the 3200 block of South Meridian after a scuffle involving two off-duty police officers who were working at the rink.   The teens were booked into the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center for assault and battery charges.

A video that shows a portion of the incident has been circulating on social media in the community.   Tracey C. Mason, Sr, founder of the CHD Boxing Club in Wichita, spoke to the council and called the incident a misunderstanding that turned into a “monstrous act,” and he accused the officers of behaving in a non-professional manner.  He said “no discipline was practiced by these officers because a child was upset and emotional about a situation.”

State Senator Oletha Faust Goudeau and other speakers called for charges to be dropped against the two teens.  She said she met the boy who was arrested and he is traumatized by the incident.

Mayor Brandon Whipple and Council members said the council could not intervene in the legal process.   The incident is still under investigation.

David Inkelaar, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, issued a statement in response to the incident:

We have been made aware of the incident with the Officer that occurred at Roller City on 12/31/22. Wichita Police Chief J. Sullivan has assured that all resources have been deployed to ensure that all the facts are gathered in the incident. It is critically important that the Police Department have the complete context and facts of the incident. 

Inkelaar issued another statement Tuesday accusing Mayor Whipple of making inflammatory statements about the incident, and saying that “a brief  snippet of the video does not provide the full context of the incident.”