Olympian detained after Lincoln Reflecting Pool incident
Former Olympian David Hearn, 67, was arrested by U.S. Park Police and charged with misdemeanor destruction of government property after an incident at the Lincoln Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. Independent journalist Emily Miller said a man jumped into the pool on Friday and cut out a “huge piece” of sealant, while also filming the detention. Miller also said the man grabbed a hose that female National Park Service workers were using to clear algae. Hearn, a cyclist and three-time Olympic canoeist, is now at the center of a messy public spectacle that has people asking a simple question: why are we treating a national landmark like a hobby project?
Hearn denies damaging the pool
Hearn told The Washington Post he did not vandalize the Reflecting Pool. According to the paper, he said he had just finished a 52-mile bike ride when he stopped to look at the newly refurbished pool. He said he noticed a piece of the new “American flag blue” liner was partially detached and reached in to feel it. Hearn said, “I didn’t vandalize anything. I didn’t destroy or break or peel anything. By the time I realized what was going on, I was being put in handcuffs.” He also denied touching the hose, though he acknowledged his bike tire may have. That is a pretty dramatic turn for a man who says he was simply checking out a loose piece of material, not staging a one-man demolition derby at the Lincoln Memorial.
Park Police investigate sealant marked “86 47”
Nick Sortor reported that U.S. Park Police are also investigating vandalism on the sealant that reads “86 47.” Hearn has not been accused of that separate marking based on the details provided, but the incident has added another layer of controversy around the pool and the broader security picture at a major national site. Hearn competed for the United States in three Summer Olympics in canoe slalom, finishing 11th in Barcelona in 1992, 9th in Atlanta in 1996, and 12th in Sydney in 2000. He is scheduled to appear in D.C. Superior Court on July 9.
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