Special Needs Child Drowns in City of Inglewood Pool
On Sunday, September 8th, the Inglewood Police Department IPD) alerted the public to a missing 9-year-old boy last seen at Ed Vincent Park around 4pm. By 9:30 the lifeless body of Zavire Dion Portis was found at the bottom of the swimming pool in the same park.
The once chain link fence, that surrounded the pool, has been replaced by a metal one.
Related: Missing 9-Year-Old Boy With Autism Found Dead in Park Swimming Pool
According to KTLA news, IPD officers had to “kick down the fence” when alerted by children in the park that there was a body at the bottom of the pool. KTLA also noted it appeared possible for a small child to slip through an opening in the gate.
The unidentified mother told IPD she “stopped to get water” and that the children in the car told her Portis had “wandered off”. This conflicts with IPD accounts that the same children were also “special needs” and were not able to clearly articulate to the officers.
It remains unclear how Portis was able to make it through the iron enclosure and into the pool. It is also unclear whether there are working cameras around the pool.
The pool is located yards from the Willie Agee Playhouse, named after the Chair of the Parks and Recreation Chairman Willie Agee who attends nearly every city council meeting but never reports any issues in the city’s largest park.
Commissioner Agee was not available for comment.
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