Women climb Lakeland fountain in viral video

LAKELAND (FOX 13) - Lakeland police say the fountain at Munn Park is not for climbing or bathing, despite the behavior captured in a now-viral video.

The footage, recorded Monday evening by Anna Peterson, shows two unidentified women cavorting in the fountain, climbing on top of each other in order to reach upper portions of the sculpture.  Eventually, one of the woman succeeds in climbing up to the top before resting and, apparently, rinsing off.

“She’s washing her face?” an incredulous Peterson can be heard observing in the video.

“I’d never seen that behavior before,” Peterson, a Lakeland resident, told FOX 13 on Friday.  “It was very different for me.”

By Friday morning, the two-minute video had been viewed over 100,000 times, with plenty of comments about the ladies’ behavior. 

“Girls just wanna have fun,” one user wrote.

“I did the same thing in that park 44 years ago, but I was 10 years old,” another added.

Several commenters asked about police, since the fountain is just down the street from LPD’s headquarters.  A police spokesman said they are aware of the video, but won’t be looking to identify or prosecute the women.

“It’s not smart,” offered Sgt. Gary Gross, “but unfortunately it’s not a crime to get into the water fountain.”

Peterson had similar advice for her fellow Lakeland park-goers.

“Please, don’t do that,” she added.