City of Flint Implements Special Event Curfew

Update: Chief James Tolbert announced boundaries on Wednesday afternoon for the Independence Day holiday events in Flint.

• July 3rd - North boundary is the NE corner of Saginaw and Fifth Ave, South boundary is Court Street, East Boundary is Chavez and the West boundary is Chevrolet
• July 4 & 5 - North boundary is Kearsley, South boundary is 3rd Street, East boundary is Harrison Street and West boundary is Beach Street.

The City of Flint announced it has amended its curfew ordinance to include specific rules regarding unsupervised minors at special events within the city. According to a news release, the amended ordinance requires that during special events within the city, unsupervised minors under the age of 17 cannot occupy any area of the city being used to facilitate the event after 6 p.m. and until 6 a.m. the following day. This curfew can be set at the discretion of the police chief to "protect the health, safety and welfare of the public" and will serve any area of the city used to put on the special events.

The ordinance states that "unsupervised minors create disorderly and dangerous situations at such events" and that "there is a need to restrict (their) presence...as the Chief of Police shall deem necessary." City of Flint Police Chief James Tolbert said "we want people who come to Flint to feel safe and secure in bringing their families to our special events. Unsupervised minors, especially in large groups, have been know to disrupt that security and create situations where visitors cannot enjoy themselves due tp concerns over their own safety."

The ordinance says any unsupervised minors in violation of the curfew can be detained until such time that they can be released to a parent or legal guardian. Additionally, if the minor is in violation of the curfew, the parent or legal guardian of the minors will be found "in violation pf their parental responsibility to exercise reasonable control and supervision over the minor child" and will face a fine of $250 plus "the actual cost to the police department in arresting and detaining the minor."

There are special exceptions to the rule. Minors attended by a parent or guardian or those with special permission to attend education or employment. Those who possess written authorization to attend work or school during the special events will have until one hour after their work or school hours to vacate the area of the event. Each special event will have a designated area for which the curfew will be in effect as defined by the Chief of Police. Regular curfew hours as set by the ordinance will apply outside the special event area.

The complete ordinance can be found here: www.amlegal.com/library/mi/flint.shtml