photo by: Richard Gwin

In this file photo from July 1, 2014, John Dwyer of Lawrence, looks over the selection of fireworks at Bartz Brothers Fireworks at 1461 U.S. Highway 40.

Last Fourth of July weekend, Lawrence police received 264 fireworks-related calls and issued nine citations for violating the citywide fireworks ban.

City leaders will take a look Tuesday at the 14-year-old ban, how it’s been complied with and whether there are enough resources to strengthen its enforcement. The discussion will come after an appeal from a small group of Lawrence residents who are concerned with fireworks’ effect on local veterans.

“Now, we have a lot of veterans who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, current conflict veterans, and they deal with things when there are random explosions or other triggers,” said Brooklynne Mosley, a U.S. Air Force veteran and commander of VFW post 842 in Lawrence. “I don’t want to see more rules; I just want to see the rules they do have being enforced better. I don’t want people to feel like they’re not in a safe space.”

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs findings support the concern.

A VA report from 2011 said noise from fireworks could cause a reaction in veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, eliciting, in some cases, anxiety attacks and flashbacks.

A movement started a few years ago of veterans putting signs in their yards, asking their neighbors to be mindful of fireworks’ effects.

Lawrence resident Melinda Henderson first brought up the issue to city commissioners in 2013. That year, she rode along with a police officer on July 4, when 44 citations were issued. From 2008 to 2012, there had been only one to four citations issued each year.

In a memo to the city, Lawrence Police Chief Tarik Khatib explained enforcement is difficult for various reasons: offenders are often gone by the time an officer arrives, and officers must handle an increase in other types of crimes, including fights, alcohol offenses and domestic disturbances, over the holiday weekend.

For half of fireworks calls received in 2015, officers responded and couldn’t confirm fireworks had been shot off.

“This would usually be the result of the officer being dispatched to the area after the call had been holding for some time, and the reported activity was no longer taking place,” Khatib wrote.

Most of those breaking the ban are minors, Khatib continued, and officers can’t issue citations to them. Officers can warn minors; confiscate the fireworks; or take them to the Juvenile Detention Center for a full offense and arrest report.

According to data provided by Khatib, Lawrence officers decreased the number of citations given in 2015 from 44 to 9, but increased the number of fireworks confiscated. There were 15 instances of confiscation in 2014 and 45 in 2015.

Lawrence police could do better at enforcing the ban, Khatib said in the memo, but it would “likely require a dedication of significant resources.”

Khatib suggested more public awareness and education about the ban or working with Douglas County leaders to require fireworks stands locate farther from Lawrence. He also suggested a countywide ban on fireworks sales “may alleviate some of the confusion.”

Fireworks are permitted in Douglas County, outside of Lawrence, during certain hours from July 1 to July 4 every year.

Henderson said she doesn’t expect the City Commission to make a decision Tuesday on the future of fireworks enforcement. But she does want to get the conversation started.

“Let’s just discuss this and come up with a plan to find a solution, to try,” Henderson said. “Let’s see what we can do.”