The lifeguard charged with murder in the shooting of two teen boys at the Douglass Park pool last month had no formal complaints against him, but his behavior was flagged by employees and patrons, a review of the shooting shows.
Charles Leto, 55, was fixing his bike chain at the pool June 26 when 15-year-old Marjay Dotson and 14-year-old Jeremy Herred approached him, and Leto allegedly shot them both, killing Marjay and critically wounding Jeremy, according to police reports and witnesses.
In the aftermath of the shooting, Leto’s violent history was widely reported in the media, including shooting two dogs, one fatally, in Lake View in 2023. But that didn’t show up on a background check because there weren’t criminal charges, according to a review of the shooting released by the Chicago Park District Tuesday.
The report states that while Leto didn’t have any disciplinary reports or formal complaints in his park district file, he had a history of aggressive behavior documented in at least five instances by patrons or staff.
Leto was hired at the park district in 2023 and worked at various parks and pools in his time there before resigning after the shooting. During that time, he had gotten into an altercation with a patron over a closed door; fought with a fellow employee after he moved his towel from a hook; screamed at a parent for using a phone on the pool deck; banged on a bathroom door to rush a patron to get out; and accused other staff members of discriminating against him because he’s a military veteran, the report states.
Leto wasn’t formally disciplined for his earlier behavior, and the park district said the June shooting wasn’t preventable or predictable based on his previous behavior.
“While the internal review did not identify a clear, foreseeable warning that Leto would commit such an unprovoked and horrific act, it did uncover systemic weaknesses in documentation, employee support, departmental coordination, and violence prevention,” the report states.
The park district said it would change certain policies and improve communication to prevent another tragedy. Reforms include heightened safety training, security coverage, community engagement and recordkeeping.
In the time period of Leto’s employment, the park district identified three instances where an employee violated its policy on violence in the workplace. Three employees were terminated and placed on the park district’s “ineligible to rehire” list.
Jayne Ingles, Leto’s attorney, said the report indicates the park district could have addressed some issues that led to the shooting.
“The Chicago Park District’s internal investigation acknowledges that its facilities had inadequate security to address known safety threats — including threats that Charles Leto brought to their attention — and they’ve acknowledged that they failed to provide staff with proper training to deal with known threats,” Ingles said in a statement. “The Chicago Park District put their employees and patrons in an untenable position, which resulted in a terrible tragedy for everyone involved.”
The park district, attorneys for Jeremy and Marjay’s families and 24th Ward Ald. Monique Scott, whose ward includes Douglass Park and who has been vocal about underlying tensions between lifeguard staff and the community, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.