Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said Tuesday, after a 3-year-old’s body was discovered in a park water tank Sunday, the city is investigating to see if there was any wrong-doing on it’s part.
Curry called the death of toddler Amari Harley a tragedy. Amari went missing at a birthday party at Arlington’s Bruce Park Sunday and was found dead several hours later in a water tank, which is part of the sewage system used for park’s restrooms.
Curry said the city is gathering all the facts.
“Since early Monday Morning Our parks and public works staff have been working to go to our parks and public spaces to access the safety and security measures in place,” he said.
He said if mistakes were made, there will be accountability.
“And there will be a process [going] forward to ensure that we’re doing our jobs and making sure that our city is safe,” Curry said.
The city says the tanks are inspected monthly, and as our partner News4Jax reported, since April of last year, the lid of the Bruce Park tank had been reported unsecure and repaired twice. The lid is a heavy rubber material and screwed down.
“We have neglected infrastructure all over this city, but this isn’t a time for this office to point fingers at neglected infrastructure from the past,” Curry said, adding instead, it’s a time to mourn with Amari’s family and follow the facts.
Curry said he called Amari’s family Monday to let them know the city is mourning with them and he’s deeply saddened by the tragedy.
Lindsey Kilbride can be reached at lkilbride@wjct.org, 904-358-6359 or on Twitter at @lindskilbride.
