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Lakewood man warns against bicycle path fishing line prank

Teenagers strung fishing line across a bicycle path in Lakewood. One nearby resident talks about why that concerned him so much.
A Lakewood man, "Kyle" expressed concern after he said three teens strung fishing line across a bicycle path at Newland Square Park near West 13th Avenue and Lamar Streeet.

KUSA – It’s harmless now. The wadded web of fishing line almost blends in like a spider web in the grass.

But that wasn’t the case on Sunday afternoon, when the line was tied across a bike path at Newland Square Park in Lakewood.

“The kids had wrapped it around several different times, so it wasn’t a single strand that would have just simply broke,” said Kyle, who lives nearby. Kyle has asked that his last name not be used to protect himself and his property for fear of retaliation.

A Lakewood man, "Kyle" expressed concern after he said three teens strung fishing line across a bicycle path at Newland Square Park near West 13th Avenue and Lamar Streeet.

“It was a barrier in the bike path that the kids had set up,” he added.Kyle watched as three teenage boys wrapped the fishing line around a sign post and tied it to a fence across the path near West 13th Avenue and Lamar Street.

He called 911, saying he was worried a cyclist would get hurt. While he was on the phone, he said he saw a cyclist approaching and stop short of the line just in time.

“They definitely got a little startled by it, slammed on their brakes and fell over,” he said.

The cyclist took down the fishing line, but Kyle said the boys put it back up. He took video on his cell phone of them tying the line taut for a second time.

One of the boys even appeared to lean into the line to test its strength. Kyle said a Lakewood police officer arrived about 30 minutes later.

A Lakewood man, "Kyle" expressed concern after he said three teens strung fishing line across a bicycle path at Newland Square Park near West 13th Avenue and Lamar Streeet.

He said the officer briefly talked to the teens on the bike path and let them go. Kyle spoke to the officer and offered to share his video of the kids tying the fishing line, but the officer told him he’d handled the situation Kyle said.

“I thought he kind of brushed it off and for his words to be ‘not a big deal,’ I thought it was a little bit of a big deal,” Kyle said.

Kyle said he later shared the video with Lakewood Police on Facebook and received a response that he believed showed genuine concern. Lakewood Police confirmed to 9NEWS an officer did respond to the incident Sunday afternoon.

Commander Mark Reeves, a spokesperson for the department, said the officer found the teens, “lectured them” and felt they “understood the gravity of the situation.”

A Lakewood man, "Kyle" expressed concern after he said three teens strung fishing line across a bicycle path at Newland Square Park near West 13th Avenue and Lamar Streeet.

The officer decided to let the teens go, convinced they understood how dangerous a hazard they’d created, Reeves said.

“I imagine we’ve all done pranks at one time or another, but for me, I thought that was a little bit more than just a harmless prank,” Kyle said.

Kyle didn’t want to get the boys in trouble, but he hoped they understood not every prank is harmless.

“I wanted them to know that this could possibly seriously hurt somebody,” he said.

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