No charges in drowning of West Chester boy. What Ohio law says about ponds

On November 28, 2024By Pranco

When a boy was 6 years old missing from his West Chester Township apartmentIt shocked the community and prompted hundreds of volunteers to work with first responders to find him.

Over 24 hours later, searchers Joshua Al-Lateef Jr. found dead in a pond near the apartment complex where he lived. The Butler County Coroner’s Office preliminarily ruled his death an accidental drowning.

The family reported to 911 that Joshua, who was on the autism spectrum, had an affinity for water common trait in children with autismwith accidental drowning being one of the leading causes of death for people with the condition.

West Chester Township spokesperson Barb Wilson said in a statement that the investigation into the drowning is nearly complete and no criminal charges are pending.

First responders immediately searched the areas surrounding the apartment, including the edges and surfaces of ponds on the property. They found no signs that the boy had gone into the water, Wilson said.

The municipality’s emergency personnel are all trained in water rescue, she added, although other agencies typically provide dive teams for recovery efforts.

She said there have been no reports of children falling into any of the eight retention ponds at the Lakefront apartment complex so far in 2021.

“This was a tragic situation and we all hoped for a better outcome,” Wilson said. “Like the hundreds who came to volunteer, the hundreds of professional search and rescue teams did everything they could to find Joshua alive before resorting to searching the deep waters of the ponds.”

What liability exists for owners of water-logged properties?

In a more than two-decade-old case involving a mother and son drowning in a neighbor’s swimming pool, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that children, especially those who trespass on someone else’s property, are “entitled to a higher level of protection than adults.”

The court’s ruling established the duty of property owners to protect children from dangerous “artificial conditions” that could attract a child who does not recognize the potential danger.

However, the court ruled that landowners may only act with ‘ordinary care’ to prevent such damage, and that owners are not automatically liable for any damage suffered by a child on their property.

“Despite our social changes, children are still children,” the ruling party said. “They still learn through their curiosity. They still have developing judgment. They still don’t always have an eye for danger.”

According to a 2019 Ohio State University law bulletincourts have generally found that ponds do not constitute inherently dangerous conditions on a property. However, there are exceptions, such as if a landowner has created a dangerous condition on their property or has not taken steps to protect children from harm.

Property owners can do several things to reduce the hazard and limit their liability, the bulletin said, including:

Routinely inspecting ponds for potentially hazardous conditions.
Installing fencing or other barriers to prevent children from gaining access to the water.
Locate ponds near lights and as far away as possible from neighbors, public streets and trails.
Installing written and visual signs that warn visitors of the depth of a pond and other hazards.
Install life-saving equipment near ponds.
Inform neighbors and visitors about ponds and their dangers.

What are the rules for retention ponds?

Butler County Development Director David Fehr said retention ponds, like the one in which Joshua drowned, are one of two ways the county allows developers to manage stormwater runoff from their properties.

It is a popular choice among developers to use retention ponds because they are a more aesthetic option, Fehr said. The county requires landowners to install fencing around in-ground swimming pools, but no such regulations exist for retention ponds.

While some argue that there should be rules about installing fencing around these ponds, a fence could prove to be an obstacle for first responders trying to get equipment and personnel into the water, Fehr said.

“It’s obviously a very tragic situation,” Fehr said of Joshua’s drowning, “but putting up fences is not necessarily the perfect remedy for that.”