Allison Ross

Louisville Courier Journal

Several teens were turned away from the Mall St. Matthews on Saturday afternoon as the popular shopping center began a new program that required teens and pre-teens to have an adult escort during certain hours.

The new chaperone rule, which also went into effect at Oxmoor Center, was put in place following a disturbance at the Mall St. Matthews a week ago. The restriction requires teens under the age of 18 to have adult supervision after 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Mall manager defends restrictions on minors

Saturday was the first day the new program went into effect. Signs placed prominently about the mall informed customers about the so-called Parental Guidance Required program, and the mall's loudspeaker system began reminding customers of the start of the program about an hour before it went into effect.

Security officials were stationed at each of the mall's public entrances, asking IDs of anyone that appeared to look under the age of 25, while more security guards roamed the food court and the rest of the center looking for anyone who might be underage and unaccompanied.

The mall's general manager, David Jacoby, said there would not be mall security checking IDs at entrances that go directly into a particular store, saying that "we don't want to hinder the retailers from doing business."

Mall officials have said that the Parental Guidance Required program is temporary, but have not indicated an end date for the program.

Chris Heintzman and his girlfriend, Tiffany Svoboda, both 16, were caught up in the new restrictions Saturday afternoon. The teens had done some shopping and were sitting on a bench waiting for Tiffany's stepmother to finish her shift at Red Robin when a security guard stopped to question them.

"I felt insulted," Chris said. "We were sitting on a bench, not doing anything." He said he'd heard about the new restrictions but had forgotten they were going into place that day.

"I don't think it's necessary for parents to be right there by our side the whole time," Tiffany added. Security officials allowed the teens to go to Red Robin to wait for Tiffany's stepmother.

St. Matthews, Oxmoor malls restrict youths

Chris said he visits the mall often, saying he was there nearly every day during the holiday shopping season. He said he has seen problems at the mall, including fights, but said the solution was for the mall to up security, not restrict all teens. He added that some of the problems he's seen have been from older consumers, who would not be stopped by the new security measure.

On Saturday, security guards exchanged pleasantries with incoming shoppers, some of whom appeared disconcerted by the presence of uniformed security at the entrance.

Young adults who were carded and OK'ed by security were offered bright blue wristbands to show other security personnel that they didn't need to be stopped again. But the wristbands caused some confusion with a few consumers, with some asking why they needed to be marked if they were of legal age.

Deanna Vance of Crestwood took her 14-year-old daughter and three of her cousins shopping Saturday afternoon, hitting up Hollister before stopping by Starbucks to get Cotton Candy Frappuccinos. Vance said she is glad to see the mall's new policy, saying she's seen the culture of the Mall St. Matthews decline in recent years, although she said she has never personally witnessed any problems at the center.

Up to 2,000 in fights at Mall St. Matthews

"When teens are not supervised, they tend to get in trouble," Vance said. "My daughter will always be supervised at the mall."

Her daughter, Makayla, diffidently disagreed, saying she would be fine by herself at the mall. "I know how to make good decisions, and I have learned right from wrong," she said.

Last Saturday evening, as many as 65 police officers from several agencies converged on the Mall St. Matthews after receiving several reports of a large number of unruly juveniles.

A St. Matthews Police Department spokesman originally called the scene a riot and gave a crowd estimate of up to 2,000 teens at the mall on the evening of the disturbance, which ended after the mall made the decision with police to close early. Spokesman Dennis McDonald later clarified that the estimate of up to 2,000 juveniles was provided by the mall, and was an estimate of all minors at the mall that night - not just those deemed unruly.

Jacoby, the mall's general manager, recently told the Courier-Journal that last week's disturbance was his toughest day of work in a decade, and defended the new restriction on minors.

Emmanuel Johnson, 13, and his cousin, Semaj Thompson, 17, said they did not know about the new policy before they decided to stop by the mall Saturday. The teens said they come to the mall every weekend to hang out at the food court and sometimes go shopping.

"This is a place to meet up with friends," Emmanuel said, saying he thought the new rule was unfair. He said he could understand if certain stores or parts of the mall had age restrictions, but said the food court and other areas should be for everyone.

Both teens shrugged when asked where they would hang out if they couldn't come to the mall on weekends. "I don't know," Emmanuel said. "We'll probably still come."

Reporter Allison Ross can be reached at (502) 582-4241.