Ohio Parents Charged After Renting Party Bus and Violating Executive Order

Police say that Ohio parents face charges after they rented a party bus for their child’s 14th birthday when 60 maskless kids were crammed onto the bus and then got into several altercations after they were dropped off.

Saturday night, police on patrol saw an unmarked bus enter the Hilltop Shopping Center in Mount Healthy, about 15 miles north of Cincinnati, where the incident occurred.

In a Facebook statement, the police department said the party bus had traveled from Cincinnati to Mount Healthy and dropped the group off without permission from the shopping center owners. The Police said the group had not been wearing masks or trying to maintain social distancing.

“Shortly thereafter, several fights broke out which necessitated calls for assistance from other police agencies,” the Mount Healthy Police Department said in a Facebook statement. “One juvenile attempted to strike Mt. Healthy Police Officer Dunn and was arrested.”

According to the department, the officers on the scene asked the bus driver to let the group back on the bus, but the driver refused and drove off, “leaving the crowd of approximately 60 juveniles in a very agitated state for officers to deal with.”

Police say that “officers worked over the next hour to break up numerous fights and distance the juveniles.”

None of the children in the group were Mount Healthy residents, so they were told to call their parents for transportation.

The Mount Healthy Police Department said that officers had discovered that the bus had been rented to celebrate one of the children’s birthdays.

Police say that the parents, who are not named, posted a note on social media claiming the celebration was an “open invite.”

The parents will be charged with violating the executive order of Gov. Mike DeWine. The police are still talking about filing additional charges against the parents and everyone else involved with the prosecutor’s office.

“Parents – it is your responsibility to manage your children. Mount Healthy Police will not tolerate blatant law violations, especially when such action endangers our community, our officers, and public health,” the police department said. “The Hilltop Plaza is not public property and should not be used without the permission of the owners.