WESTLAKE, Ohio — Westlake police called a gun-toting teen “violent” and “dangerous,” so why wasn’t he booked into the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center after his arrest last month?
That case has some calling for a change to the criteria the county uses to decide if teens should be taken off the streets and locked up after they are arrested.
The case in question happened on Friday, March 28, at Crocker Park.
Recordings reveal that Crocker Park security called the Westlake Police for assistance in kicking a group of teens off the property. They warned police that “they have weapons on them.”
Body camera video shows police arrive and quickly locate a teen matching the description of one who pointed a gun at others.
“Stay there, don’t move,” an officer told the 16-year-old.
Video shows police pulling a 9mm handgun from the teen’s jacket.
Investigators said it was loaded.
Westlake Police Captain Jerry Vogel called it a dangerous situation.
“Kids make stupid decisions all the time,” said Vogel. “One little thing could have gone wrong, even if it was an accident, if he accidentally discharged the firearm it could have been disastrous. People could have been injured or killed.”
Police took the teen to the police station, where they learned he was also wanted on two juvenile court warrants.
RELATED: Westlake Police arrest 16-year-old who allegedly pointed gun at crowd in Crocker Park
But when police called juvenile detention to ask the center to book the teen, they were told he was a “no go.”
Detention would not admit the 16-year-old. Instead, police were told to release him to his parents.
“We were disappointed,” said Vogel. “We can’t have kids running around with guns in our city. I think sending a message to the child that there are immediate consequences to his actions is beneficial.”
Records show the teen was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and having a weapon with warrants.
Both charges are felonies, but the charges were not severe enough to trigger automatic admission to the county’s detention center, according to the juvenile court.
Court administrators said that’s reserved for first and second degree felonies as well as sex cases where the suspect and victim live together.
Guns, receiving stolen property, and grand theft of motor vehicle cases are considered based "on specifics of juvenile history and circumstances of the offense provided in the police report,” according to a statement from the court.
Court administrators declined a request for an on-camera interview, but said in a statement, that the court is guided by research showing, “placing low-level offenders in detention with higher level offenders has a negative effect,” and that a teen is more likely to commit a serous charge after being detained with higher level offenders.
It’s not the first time law enforcement has questioned juvenile detention admission policies.
A year and a half ago, a spokesman for the union representing Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Deputies complained teens charged with assaulting deputies were turned away from detention.
RELATED: Union warns juvenile court's 'revolving door' could jeopardize safety
“My guys have been spit on, bitten, punched, kicked, assaulted,” said Colin Sikon with labor union Local 860.
At the time, Sikon worried that keeping teens on the streets after they committed crimes would embolden them to break the law again.
Now, Westlake police are echoing those concerns.
Vogel believes that unless the court sends a message and locks up teens accused of violence, it could lead to more problems in the future.
“They have the perception that in this county they’re not going to be held accountable,” Vogel said.
The 16-year-old’s mother said he failed to show up for his court date on the gun charge and was eventually admitted to juvenile detention after a traffic stop on Easter weekend.
Records show he is also facing charges in Summit County, where he’s accused of stealing guns from a home.
