Oklahoma City police said it was not one of their officers who confronted a woman at an amusement park last month, accusing her of wearing shorts that were too revealing, banning her from the park for five years.
That would mean the officer was either an Oklahoma County sheriff’s deputy or an Oklahoma Department of Corrections officer, according to the website for Frontier City, the Six Flags amusement park from which she was banned.
The woman, Bailey Breedlove, posted a video on Tik Tok of part of the confrontation that took place on April 30 which is now going viral. She also posted two follow-up videos explaining what took place. The three videos are included in the video at the bottom of the story.
Breedlove said she had been at the park with her boyfriend and her 11-year-old daughter when a woman wearing a gray shirt with the word “police” on the back and sleeves confronted them after the daughter had skated down a hill with her Heelys, a brand of sneaker that includes a skate wheel in each shoe.
The cop then grabbed Breedlove’s arm and told her her shorts were too short and that she either had to purchase new shorts from the park or leave the park entirely.
Breedlove said she began debating the officer over the issue but the cop was relentless. When Breedlove finally agreed to buy the shorts from the park, the cop said it was too late and that she had to leave.
Two other cops and a park manager were beckoned to the scene to ensure they leave the park.
After the family walked out of the park, the park manager told the cops to get her identification in order to ban her from the park for five years but Breedlove at first refused, believing the cop had no probable cause.
But the cops insisted that they didn’t really need probable cause or reasonable suspicion, declaring that “we’re the police” and she must comply.
The daughter began to cry as Breedlove’s boyfriend, Jake Heller, began recording. Breedlove said she eventually complied to avoid escalating the situation.
“Identify yourself and you can leave,” said the cop.
After the video began going viral, Heller posted a fundraiser on Go Fund Me to raise money for legal fees to sue the park but it has since been removed. Below is how Heller described the incident on the Go Fund Me before it was removed.
On April 30th my girlfriend, daughter and I were at a six flags park in Oklahoma called “Frontier City”. We were on vacation visiting her family and it was the one sunny day that we were able to go enjoy ourselves. We were admitted into the park around 5 pm without issue. After a couple of rides, talking to parents and having a good time. I was sitting down at a rest area while my girlfriend and daughter went to go on a different ride.
Moments later my girlfriend comes running to me crying with three cops following her, and proceeded to tell me that they are harassing her about her shorts. I was then rather upset with their choice to cause a big deal over something everyone else in the park was doing and was rather confused as to why we were being singled out. The “cop” demanded that she bought new shorts which seemed outrageous to us because we spent a lot of money to get in and we aren’t exactly financially well off considering the hard year everyone has had.
After some back and forth with the rent a cop pretending to be a police officer. We decided that we will buy the shorts so we could continue to enjoy our time there but about then is when this “cop” started to say “its too late were past that now you need to leave or we will issue a criminal trespassing charge to you.” As insane as this sounded and how wrong it sounded we decided it wasn’t worth the trouble and proceeded to be escorted to the front.
We get outside of the park when a manager told the “cop” to detain her and get her ID to issue a five year ban from six flags establishments along with a criminal trespassing charge all over a pair of shorts. Bailey my girlfriend did not want to do that as it seemed like an illegal detainment and when we asked what’s the probable cause they told us “because were police”. I then proceeded to ask for their badge numbers and they refused to do so. Bailey thought she was going to be arrested in front of her daughter who was already having a panic attack and agreed to provide her ID. We were then followed to our cars and bullied into leaving with no refund and left.
Since then the video I took of the cop harassing her has reached 2 million views people saw how wrong this was and proceeded to say we should seek legal counsel. So here we are, raising awareness about this ongoing issue for women’s rights and to raise money for a civil defense lawyer. Anything is appreciated and we thank everyone who has been so supportive because the whole thing traumatized my autistic girlfriend and daughter.
At first it was assumed the cop was an Oklahoma City police officer considering the theme park is in city limits.
But an employment ad placed on Glassdoor by Frontier City seeking job applicants to become park police officers says it only hires state-certified law enforcement officers from either the Oklahoma City Police Department, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office or the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.
The ad also said that “rule breakers better watch out when you’re on our security team. You’ll protect our people and our property” with the following bullet points highlighting the job description.
- Interact with guests providing directions and assistance
- Protect employees, guests, and company property
- Enforce park policies
- Patrol and inspect assigned areas of the park
- Keep unauthorized personnel out of restricted areas
- Rapidly respond to active alarms, first aid, and other emergency situations
- Monitor all areas for safety hazards, including fire, theft, and vandalism
- Apprehend violators, including on-foot pursuits when necessary
- Escort guests and team members as needed for assistance and protection
The “Park Policies” page on the amusement park’s website states that “no denim/jean shorts or shorts below the knee” will be permitted which indicates they are more concerned with longer shorts that fall below the knees than shorts that fall above the knees.
However, the shorts she was wearing were made of denim which is a violation of their dress code.
In 2019, Frontier Park made the news when it did not allow an off-duty cop to enter the park with a gun which he had concealed but had been discovered by a metal detector upon entry. At the time, the park issued the following statement regarding its policies.
Six Flags works hand in hand with law enforcement to ensure the safety and well-being of our guests and team members. We hire hundreds of police officers in cities across the country. As stated on our website and in-park signage, guests may not bring firearms into the park(s). The policy—which is standard for theme parks and many public venues—applies to all guests, including police officers on personal time and is in compliance with Oklahoma state law.
Below is a screenshot from Breedlove’s Facebook page with more details about the incident.
WTH! No video , no picture or screenshot????????????