JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A day after a News4JAX report regarding a Jacksonville park that neighbors said has been plagued by drug and sexual activity, we returned to find the area had been cleaned up.
A police report News4JAX obtained Tuesday reveals that a 13-year-old boy had left a family gathering at a nearby home to walk his dog at Terrance Park, where he found the body of an adult inside a children’s playground.
The boy left the park and told relatives what he found, and, the report states, the family came back to the park and called 911 after confirming what the boy discovered.
While it’s unclear how the person died, neighbors who reached out to News4JAX said that because of rampant drug activity and prostitution at the park, it was not a matter of if but when something tragic would happen there.
“Whether it be a murder or an overdose, I don’t know what it was, but something bad happened and we knew it was going to happen,” said resident Kim Barus.
Jacksonville City Council President Terrance Freeman saw our story and says he paid close attention to the parents who complained about used condoms and drug paraphernalia littering park grounds. He assured the parents that help is on the way.
“I believe Jacksonville is great, but I want it to be greater for our kids and the next generation. That means taking care of some of those challenges you just brought to our attention,” Freeman said. “I want to assure them that I haven’t stopped fighting and my colleagues haven’t stopped fighting and we’re going to continue to fight this fight so that we can ensure every park and every space is a safe space for our kids.”
Freeman, who is also a youth athletic coach, says he often spends weekends at city fields and parks.
“And I have noticed the disparities in some areas at times. I have noticed some of the challenges in your story in regard to this park, and I can tell you it is a priority of the city to get to every one of these parks and to continue to create these safe spaces for kids,” Freeman said.
“Best news we’ve had since we lived here,” Barus said. “We’ve tried for two years to clean this park up.”
“I’m glad somebody is finally listening to us,” said resident Brandy Benfield. “I mean, we have gone through every chain of command possible and maybe something will finally get done.”
Freeman said the plan going forward is to try and have a greater presence by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and more activities at the park to bring in more families. He hopes that will bring a positive change for the future and keep the park clean.
Freeman also said the city must continue to support JSO to make sure they have all the resources and personnel to keep all our parks and public areas safe.