is killed with 0.5 ppm chlorine in five minutes, according to numerous sources.
However, it was found that parks and recreation employees failed to record, or in some case not conduct, water testing prior to opening at two of the city’s four splash pads, including the one where Williams played. Most importantly, it was found that although the employees were responsible for checking splash pad chlorination levels, inspection logs at the Don Misenhimer splash pad showed that chlorine levels were not documented on two of the three dates that Williams visited. Furthermore, records from the day after Williams visited the facility showed that chlorine levels had fallen below the minimum requirement.
City officials did not shirk responsibility for the incident.
In a news release, Lemuel Randolph, the deputy city manager, said, “We have identified gaps in our daily inspection program. Those gaps resulted in us not meeting our maintenance standards at our splash pads.”
Provided with the results of the investigation, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross used stronger language. In an interview with news channel WFAA, Ross said that he and his grandchildren use the city’s splash pads.
“Part of our job as city leaders is to protect our citizens, and we failed, we absolutely failed,” Ross said. “The best way to deal with this thing is to come straight down main street and own it. We screwed up. Make no mistake, I’m taking responsibility for this; this happened under my watch, and the buck stops here.”
On October 4, speaking at a news conference, the child’s parents, Tariq Williams and Kayla Mitchell, announced that they had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the City of Arlington.
Standing alongside the boy’s parents, Stephen Stewart, the family’s attorney, said, “We’re here today because the City of Arlington decided to ignore the very safety rules that protect all of us. When you have public amusements like the splash pad, you just have to step up and do what is mandated by the state of Texas and they didn’t do it.”
Attorneys are asking that the case go before a jury and are seeking more than $1 million in damages.
