Former Olympian David Hearn Arrested After Reflecting Pool Incident
Former Olympian David Hearn was arrested and charged with misdemeanor destruction of government property after an incident at the Lincoln Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C.
According to independent journalist Emily Miller, a man was arrested after jumping into the pool on Friday and cutting out a “huge piece” of the sealant. Miller also said she filmed a man being detained by Park Police. “He grabbed the hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear the algae,” Miller said.
That man was identified as cyclist and Olympian David Hearn, who is 67. Hearn competed for the United States in three Summer Olympics in canoe slalom. He finished 11th in Barcelona in 1992, ninth in Atlanta in 1996, and 12th in Sydney in 2000.
Another detail from the scene drew attention as well. Per Nick Sortor, the U.S. Park Police are also investigating vandalism on the sealant that reads “86 47.”
Hearn later denied that he damaged the Reflecting Pool. In a statement to The Washington Post, he said he had stopped by after a 52-mile bike ride and noticed a piece of the new liner that was already partly detached.
The Washington Post reported that Hearn said he reached into the water to feel the loose piece before Park Police arrested him. He is scheduled to appear in D.C. Superior Court on July 9.
In an interview Saturday, Hearn denied touching the hose and said his bike tire may have made contact with something near the pool. He also said, “I didn’t vandalize anything,” Hearn said. “I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.”
Hearn, wearing biking gear and a helmet, can be seen in the video with his hands cuffed behind his back. Fragments of conversation are audible, though a pump running in the background makes much of the exchange hard to hear.
When asked about his actions, Hearn said, “I reached in there, and I was able to grab the end of that flapping piece, the already peeling piece. It was still attached to the bottom. I didn’t remove anything.”
The incident has now put a longtime athlete in the middle of a messy public-property dispute, with one side calling it vandalism and the other saying it was a misunderstanding at a damaged site.