Wearing a thong to the Prairie Village pool doesn’t pass the dress code no matter how hot it gets.
Prairie Village police officers removed a man from the Prairie Village swimming pool last week for inappropriate dress after responding to a complaint.
The man was wearing a “thong type” swimsuit, according to Prairie Village Public Information Officer Meghan Buum, which placed him in violation of the city’s public nudity ordinance. “Officers observed the subject to be in violation of the ordinance by the buttocks being exposed,” the city reported.
Prairie Village residents who were at the pool when the incident occurred first told the Shawnee Mission Post about the interaction. They said police officers were professional in handling the complaint and in escorting the man, who they said to be around 40, outside the pool. The residents reported overhearing dialogue between the officers and the man about a previous warning for his pool attire – or lack thereof.
Buum confirmed that the man had previously been in violation of the ordinance and had been warned.
“The subject was escorted outside of the pool for privacy and informed of the violation and issued a citation for violation of the city ordinance,” Buum reported. “The subject was cooperative and after receiving the citation left the pool. The subject was not banned from the City pool, but was advised he would need to wear appropriate clothing upon return.”
The incident occurred Thursday of last week around 5:30 p.m. near the lap pool.
Buum passed along the Prairie Village city ordinance on public nudity, under which the man was given a citation:
“No person shall knowingly or intentionally appear in a state of nudity in a public place. Nudity is defined as the showing of the human male or female genitals, pubic area or buttocks with less than a full opaque covering; the showing of the female breast with less than a full opaque covering of any portion thereof below the top of the nipple; or the depiction of covered male genitals in a discernible state of sexual arousal.”
