No extra security planned for weekend youth football games after coach attack

Wichita police have no plans to increase security at Greater Wichita Junior Football League games this Saturday, even though a coach was attacked by a group of men at a practice earlier this week, prompting the coach’s wife to pull out a gun and fire a shot into the air.

Off-duty police officers and Sedgwick County sheriff’s deputies already are in uniform at every park where the games are played, police Lt. James Espinoza said.

The Greater Wichita Junior Football League is “a very safe league,” said Espinoza, who is a coach in the league.

“Over the past six years, there have always been uniformed officers at games. Nothing will change with that.

“Parents and children will be safe there.”

Investigators are still sorting through exactly what happened at Linwood Park on Monday night, where Wichita Tigers teams were conducting practice. The director of the Tigers has said the mother of a former player confronted a coach over her son not being allowed to play in the season opener last Saturday.

She left after that, but a group of men came to the field later in the evening and confronted the same coach, who coaches the Tigers’ eighth-grade team, Espinoza said. One of the men displayed a handgun tucked in his waistband and the others then assaulted the coach. One of the attackers used brass knuckles, police have said.

Seeing the attack on her husband, the coach’s wife pulled out a gun and fired one shot in the air. That halted the assault, and the coach went to his car and retrieved a gun of his own, pointing it at several people in the crowd.

“It’s a very complex incident,” Espinoza said. “There is still a numerous amount of witnesses to be contacted and interviewed.”

Police are still seeking any video recordings of the evening’s events, he said.

The 37-year-old coach who was attacked has been removed from his coaching duties with the Tigers, and his wife has also been removed from any involvement with the team.

“They have been very cooperative in this incident with the police department,” Espinoza said.

The couple both have concealed-carry permits and possess their weapons legally, he said. The guns were confiscated as evidence in the incident, he said, but they could get the weapons back at a later date.

“At this time, we’re still investigating whether this was justified – the shot being fired,” Espinoza said.

It will be up to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office to determine what, if any, charges will be filed.

There were young children present at the time of the clash and the gunfire.

“There were some upset, angry, emotional people” in the wake of the assault and the gunfire, Espinoza said. “They have the right to be.”

Espinoza, who is a coach for a Ravens team in the same league, said, “It’s not right that we have parents and coaches act like this. It’s a terrible example.”

“Parents need to have a reality check sometimes and realize this is a game,” he said. They “need to set the example of being good parents and good fans.”

This story was originally published September 10, 2014 at 8:20 AM with the headline "No extra security planned for weekend youth football games after coach attack."