- A viral video showed a Boston police officer violently shooting down a slide at City Hall Plaza.
- Since then, the slide has become so wildly popular that officials put a fence up at night.
The fun police made it to Boston.
Weeks after a police officer took a viral tumble down a children's slide in City Hall Plaza, the playground portion has been blocked off at night — because too many people want to try it.
—Live Boston (@LiveBoston617) August 1, 2023
A local who posted about the fences on Tumblr said they had been "yelled at by a cop" after trying to take a trip down the steep metal playground equipment at night.
"The park is closed i think," the user, who did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, wrote. "but also it's being patrolled by people who hate fun."
Others who saw the barricades despaired online, with one user posting to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter: "I CAN'T BELIEVE COPS RUINED THE COP SLIDE."
—KL! | DRAGONCON SOON ☠️ (@momebie) August 12, 2023
The Boston Globe reported that the nightly fences, which appeared Thursday, were erected by city officials to prevent large groups of adults from trying to use the slide after the park had closed.
"Blocking the slide off was a temporary measure as we were seeing increased activity at night by adults (when the slide is closed)," a spokesperson for Mayor Michelle Wu's office told the outlet. "At this point, we are using the existing signage and regular security enforcement to discourage adults from using the slide but are no longer blocking it off at night."
Representatives for the mayor's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The slide was constructed in November 2022 as part of a $70 million renovation of City Hall Plaza, according to NBC Boston. However, the playground has only recently seen a large influx of visitors since the video of a Boston police officer flailing out of the tube slide's entrance circulated around social media earlier this month.
After receiving several complaints of injuries, the city is debating long-term strategies to prevent adults from using the playground equipment.
"We want all of our public spaces to be beloved," NBC Boston reported Mayor Wu said. "And if it looks like we need to make sure that there's more signage that this is for children or something, we can do that too."