Skateland Cancels 'Club Night' Following Police Meeting

After a weekend of what police called "riotous, uncontrollable behavior," Putty Hill Skateland has made a decision to cancel an upcoming "club night" in an effort to stem the issue. 

Skateland officials met with Baltimore County Police White Marsh precinct Captain Michael Balog on Monday afternoon after kids leaving the skating rink broke the window of a police cruiser Saturday night. 

While Balog was not available to comment Wednesday afternoon, assistant precinct commander Lieutenant David Naimaster said that in the meeting Skateland made the decision to cancel the Aug. 16 club night. 

"Baltimore County either didn’t renew or revoked their permit and Skateland chose to cancel the event as well," Naimaster said. 

While the chaos on Aug. 2 wasn't related to a club night, Balog said that the upcoming event on Aug. 16 was expected to draw an even larger crowd.

"The main thing we were concerned about was this upcoming club night," Naimaster said. "[The event] promoter said not to blame Skateland, it's because of [the] behavior that they had to do this."

On Saturday night, kids leaving Skateland skirmished with police; one juvenile was arrested after kicking a police officer, and the window of a police cruiser was broken. 

Patch reported Monday that in the past, businesses in the area have had to close down because of the teens, who, while awaiting public transportation, have stopped traffic on Belair Road and caused damage to vehicles and businesses. 

On Skateland Putty Hill's Facebook page, three messages announcing the cancellation of the Aug. 16 club night and closure of Skateland that evening have been posted since Tuesday. 

Response has been mixed—teens who looked forward to attending the club night and one chaperone say they should not be punished because of the behavior of "a few bad apples."

Juanita Foster-Anderson wrote on the page: "wow...thats unfortunate. to have a few bad apples that ruin it for the other kids. I'm there every week just about chaperoning and it can be aweful (sic) at timesI think there should be a rule implemented where an adult [h]as to be present with every child/ group of kids and it seems like its the kids that catch public transportation thats causing the trouble."

Residents of the area, meanwhile, applaud the decision.

"Amen! Sorry But until the situation can be handled I can't see how the night skate can exist," wrote James Felix Jr. 

Naimaster said that to his knowledge the meeting did not address the regular Saturday night skating hours, but that the cancellation of the club night had been a priority for police and was a good first step in bringing the situation under control. 

TELL US: Do you think the cancellation was the right move? Leave a comment.