Parents of teens who violated weekend curfew should expect their day in court, St. Louis police say 22%
By Lacretia Wimbley0%
3/23/2026, 9:19:06 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 8 faulty reasoning types, including Indoctrination, Framing Effect, and Anecdotal, with Self-Serving Bias as the most egregious example at 17.3% saturation with 115 hits. Analysis detected 461 faulty-reasoning hits from 665 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 35.4% and a BS Rank of 22% (13,248 of 16,813 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 78.80% of the article peer group.
Parents of youths detained over the weekend, accused of violating a short-term curfew, can expect to receive a court summons in the mail soon, according to the St.
Louis Metropolitan Police Department.
Police set a 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew for those under 18 years old that began last Friday and ended Sunday.
The rule applied in the Downtown St.
Louis and Downtown West neighborhoods during the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, in an effort to curb any unruly behavior and prevent the recurrence of violent street takeovers, police said.
A total of 23 people between 11 and 17 years old were detained on Friday, and no one was detained Saturday or Sunday, according to SLMPD Director of Public Affairs Mitch McCoy.
He said all were detained in the Downtown and Downtown West areas.
McCoy said that 17 of the detained youths reside in St Louis County and that six are from St.
Louis.
All were picked up by their parents or legal guardians Friday night, McCoy said.
All of those parents are being held responsible and were cited with a curfew violation and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, McCoy said.
According to city ordinance, parents can be cited up to $500 or face up to 90 days in jail for violating the ordinance if they failed to pick up their children within 45 minutes, or a time designated by police.
Many parents had to leave work, and some took a while to arrive, McCoy said.
“Parents, if your child was detained over the weekend, you need to be on the lookout in the mail this week or next week to receive that summons, because there is a court date and you will have to go to court,” McCoy said Monday during a press briefing at police headquarters.
“It's my understanding that all of the parents, for their child's behavior, will be getting a citation.”
He said it’s possible that if a brother and sister were detained, parents might receive two citations.
Some detainees had told their parents that they were going to a party or going to a friend's house but instead went to the Downtown and Downtown West areas on Friday, McCoy said.
“There was one who had turned off their location services so their parents couldn't track them on the app,” McCoy added.
“We have to share (these things) with parents so that way they can be engaged because kids can be sneaky.”
He said that despite rumors that teens were being arrested and kept in jail cells, they were actually held in a large room in the department’s reunification center to await pickup.
“It was certainly a positive engagement with many kids and some of the resources that were there,” McCoy said.
He said the department collaborated with the mayor's office and other city services, including the Office of Violence Prevention and Youth and Family Services.
Mayor Cara Spencer said in a statement the detainees were given meals and snacks, beverages, and emotional support, including counseling services.
“With no known instances of youth gun violence occurring this past weekend, my office and I consider the weekend efforts to have been a success,” Spencer said.
“We also appreciate the opportunity to connect these 23 families with existing resources and support.”
That included support from Propel Kitchens, Diamond Diva Foundation, Covenant House, Youth in Need, Living with Purpose, MERS Goodwill and Behavioral Health Response, Spencer said.
The St.
Louis Cardinals open their 2026 MLB season against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday at Busch Stadium downtown.
Games will take place through the weekend.
Police said there will be officers in place, but they have not yet decided if another curfew will be implemented.
“I think that this past weekend set a very good pace for what our residents and visitors expect, and we're going to do what we can to maintain those high expectations,” McCoy said.
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