OKLAHOMA CITY —Five men were arrested at Oklahoma City parks for violating the law prohibiting sex offenders from entering safety zones around schools, even though all incidents occurred after park hours when it was dark.
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All three men, who are transients, face charges for entering the safety zone as sex offenders. The three men all have prior convictions for sex-related crimes.
But park visitors told KOCO that they usually feel safe there overall.
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The Oklahoma City Police Department did not comment on whether this is an effort to keep sex offenders out of parks or if security guards are allowed to detain people in these situations, but they did provide a statement to KOCO.
“These guys weren’t committing sex offenses in the park; they were simply loitering. But the fact that they are sex offenders makes it illegal for them to be there,” police said.
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“There is no targeted campaign regarding sex offenders. Any suspicious activity is initially investigated by our safety team and the police are called when warranted,” …
Oklahoma thinks high school is an advanced education.
In the park, after dark, no children are there, still mothers beware….
As a parent you should be insulted, as you were not consulted, the police are the nanny state… isn’t that great?
This is where prosecutorial discretion needs to come into play and dismiss all charges against these gentlemen. Being in the park after dark when no one else is around is harmless. No matter what the law says, which is a very stupid law again to restrict them even when no one is around, unless there is some sort of harm that these homeless gentlemen were causing, drop off the charges. Help them get off the streets by giving them assistance that doesn’t include a pair of handcuffs and a court date.
All five of these men are homeless. It appears that they were targeted, possibly for sleeping in a “safe zone”.
“It doesn’t surprise me, we’re downtown?” Really lady? Is that the level of intelligence they have in Oklahoma? Maybe she should be vigilante in her own home where sexual abuse is much more likely to occur than downtown oakie city. 🤠
The Oklahoma law, as written and enforced, certifies fraudulent safety hazards that simply do not exist. It criminalizes presence without conduct, risk, or notice—treating classification as danger and silence as guilt. These arrests occurred after hours, with no children present and no posted signage, yet the law presumes harm where none occurred. For this presumption alone, the law authorizes up to five years in prison. The charge: felony presence. The sentence: shelter as crime.
This presumption violates Due Process (no fair warning), Equal Protection (targeting the homeless), Compelled Speech (forced absence from civic space), and the ADA (constructing disability through state-imposed classification). When safety is defined by stigma, the law becomes a tool of exclusion—not protection.
Author’s Note: I asked the officer, “Where do you go if a storm comes?” He said, “Anywhere you feel safe.” But the law denies that very possibility. It criminalizes shelter, presumes danger, and punishes presence. Safety becomes a privilege of classification-not a human need. This note is not anecdote; it is indictment. The law offers no refuge, only surveillance. And the storm isn’t just weather-it’s policy.