Getting Answers: Mom shares concerns after what she saw at East Longmeadow carnival

An East Longmeadow mom is raising concerns after what she saw last night at the carnival in town - involving a ride operator and a cellphone.
Published: Jul. 1, 2022 at 5:14 PM EDT|Updated: Jul. 1, 2022 at 5:37 PM EDT

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - An East Longmeadow mom is raising concerns after what she saw last night at the carnival in town - involving a ride operator and a cellphone.

“So I just thought that was a little creepy, a little odd rather. And so when you see something you say something,” says Tani.

The man in this photo holding up his cellphone at The East Longmeadow Carnival Thursday night raised concerns for Tani - who asked Western Mass News not to use her full name.

The East Longmeadow mom tells us that the worker was operating this ride when he took out his cellphone to record riders getting on and off the ride.

“He was going around videoing them, live streaming. I asked some other parents if they thought that was a little weird. One of them walked over to him, confronted him, and asked him what he was doing. He said he was live streaming, not videoing,” Tani explains.

Western Mass News getting answers. We went to East Longmeadow Police Chief, Mark Williams to ask him what this was all about.

He tells us in a statement in part:

“From what I’ve been told his actions were not deemed to be illegal by the investigating officers, but nonetheless, they’re certainly concerning from a safety standpoint on a number of levels. The carnival’s management will deal with the individual employee as they see fit.”

But Tani is concerned about who might have seen the livestream.

“I try to keep my daughter’s presence on social media to a minimum. I’m not always posting her picture everywhere. Trying to decrease her digital footprint. I don’t know where these videos are,” she tells us.

Chief Williams says he’s confident the carnival management will take this concern seriously.

The East Longmeadow Rotary Club organizes The East Longmeadow Carnival.

Western Mass News spoke with the president of the Rotary Club of East Longmeadow, Adele Hill and she told us, “We appreciate the mom for identifying something she was uncomfortable with and contacting the East Longmeadow Police Department who did their due diligence in their investigation. Since the police department was contacted we’re comfortable with them working directly with the carnival owners. We have the highest regard for Chief Williams and the police department.”