SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A 2-year-old review of Falls Park that Sioux Falls officials used to defend safety protocol at the park, where a 5-year-old girl from Audubon drowned on March 18th, was actually a training exercise. Documents released to the Argus Leader newspaper show that what the city cited as an “independent review” and “safety audit” of the park was a training exercise for employees of the South Dakota Public Assurance Alliance.
The member-owned alliance helps insure more than 400 local government entities in the state. Attorney Robert Anderson says no formal safety audit of the park occurred in 2016.
City Emergency Manager Regan Smith says he erred in calling the 2016 review an audit when addressing the media on March 19.