Tucson Mountain Park hit by vandals
Deputies are investigating
Reporter: Sergio Avila
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - The prestine views from the Gate's Pass lookout are one of Tucson's treasures. But over the weekend this area was trashed by punks who are disrespecting the park. Mark Brosseau manages the park.
"The best word to put for it is it's extremely disheartening. You're coming out here thinking it's going to be a somewhat undisturbed area, you're assuming that most of the people that are out here are here for the purpose of the park. It doesn't cross your mind until you see that kind of activity there's another element out here for illegal illegitimate purposes," Brosseau said.
Brosseau tells 9OYS they used to have a dedicated park patrol that kept this stuff to a minimum. About four years ago the park patrol was disbanded. Now maintenance crews work to clean up what brosseau says is an endless list of things to do.
"As quickly a lot of times as they clean up this type of activity, in this type of heat under less than favorable conditions they come back the next day the next week, two weeks later and you're doing the same type of remedial clean up and repairs," Brosseau said.
The Pima County Sheriff's department is now in charge of patrolling the park. The deputies who patrol are also assigned to do rescues at hiking trails across the county. So 9OYS asked why there aren't more patrols in this area?
"I would just say it's because of the fact it's so much busier in other areas. Those deputies who would normally go to those places are not available because they're doing rescues," Barkman said.
Barkman tells KGUN9 news after vandalism occurs it's very tough to find those responsible. They're asking anyone who sees something suspicious in the are to call the sheriff's department immediately.
"It is, without evidence and without finding them tagging the property it's going to be a little more difficult, it's not impossible. So we do have investigators who will be working on this," Barkman said.





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