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Published by Walter J. O'Neill, Jr, 2016-06-21 13:45:18

WAVE 05-02-16

Wave School Safety & Security News

2

The answers are not in a crys- The challenge for those of us gether prior to the event. The
tal ball for security concerns. working in education is to risks are too great for one
We might not be able to fore- prepare for, mitigate, respond person to try and manage
see the future in a glass ball to, and recover from natural alone. Planning, exercises,
or on tea leaves, but what we and human-caused events building relationships, and in-
can do is take an all-hazards while operating with dis- tegrating operations are the
emergency preparedness ap- persed facilities, limited com- foundation for successful
proach. It is our duty and ob- munications infrastructure, management of an all-haz-
ligation to provide a safe and and limited response capabil- ards event.
secure environment for stu- ities.
dents, staff, faculty, and ad- Establishing those four ac-
ministration. The key element for school tions in advance enables the
all-hazards response is the district to overcome difficult
Our campus, all the sites in ability of all the stakeholders challenges. While district per-
within the district to work to- sonnel and community mem-
the LBPS district, may poten- bers might change, an
established process in-
tially face a variety of threats grained within the system will
always assist the district in
and hazards ranging from preparing for, mitigating, re-
sponding to, and recovering
natural and human-caused from natural and human
caused events.
events to known and un-

known threats. These circum-

stances require an

all-hazards approach to de-

veloping and implementing a

comprehensive emergency

preparedness strategy.

PROLOGUE Over the past year or so, his drinking 3
has increased leading to violent out-
It is Tuesday afternoon during the bursts and a few instances of do- PHASE 1
week of finals. The high school staff mestic violence against Mary. Her
is busy with exams and planning for coworkers and friends are aware of Tuesday, 2:15 p.m.
the upcoming graduation. Dr. Salva- the situation, as she occasionally ap-
tore is out of state on school busi- pears at work with visible injuries. Mary’s classroom is filled with stu-
ness but should be back within a few Although she is a dedicated em- dents taking finals, and she is work-
days. Alvin L. Freeman, Assistant ployee who rarely takes vacation or ing at her desk. Next to the science
Superintendent of Schools along leave, in rare instances, she has sud- room is a computer lab with large
with JanetLynn Dudick, Assistant denly and unexpectedly called in glass windows and 75 students are
Superintendent for Pupil and Per- sick for several days while being busily finishing last minute assign-
sonnel Services, are out of the city vague about her supposed illness. ments. Also near the room are six
speaking at teacher recruitment con- students talking in the hallway. Mary
ference. On one occasion four months ago, looks up from her desk and sees
John came to the HS campus ex- John walking towards her. She ini-
Mary Jones, (fictitious person-not tremely upset and confronted Mary tially becomes tense from fear, but
real) an alumna of the high school is in the academic parking lot as she then observes that he looks calm
employed by the district for the past was leaving for lunch. Safe School and relaxed.
eight years, is the head science Officers were informed of the inci-
teacher. She is well known and pop- dent and escorted John off school He smiles as he approaches her and
ular with faculty and students. She grounds without further incident. Ad- reaches under his shirt and draws a
and her husband John have been ministration was informed of alterca- semiautomatic pistol. Mary yells,
married for six years and have two tion, but no other actions were taken. “John don’t!” before he fires two
young children, ages four and two. shots into her chest. The co-workers
The couple have been having in- There were rumors that local police who were nearby stand motionless,
creasing marital difficulties, and it have been called to their home a few frozen in fear. John calmly turns and
appears their marriage will be ending times; and John may have been ar- shoots them both.
soon. rested at some point, although no
one really knows if that is true. No Students in the classroom react to
John is a mid-level manager in the one has approached Mary about the the shooting. Several scream and
healthcare field and is not affiliated rumors. run or duck for cover, but most re-
with the districts Health Center. Over main seated and look around con-
the past few years, he has had diffi- While Mary has not sought any for- fused, trying to make sense of what
culty coping with the increased pres- mal counseling through the district, they saw and heard.
sures of fatherhood and has been she has had private discussions with
having a difficult time at work. His fellow coworkers and friends about
company has experienced signifi- her desire to end the marriage. She
cant layoffs that have greatly in- received encouragement from most
creased his workload. His own of them, who have urged her to take
position is tenuous, and there are ru- her children and leave John.
mors he may be let go. He often can-
not sleep at night because he Mary contacted a divorce attorney
worries about the future. and made an appointment for a con-
sultation during the previous week.
Last night she informed John that
she wants a trial separation. Al-
though she expected him to have an
explosive outburst, she was sur-
prised that reacted calmly. Neither of
them slept much afterwards, how-
ever. When she left for work this
morning, John showed no emotion
and was quiet and reserved.

4

One student reacts quickly and dials 9- As John walks back to his car, he PHASE 3
1-1, while a female students sends a senses someone following his and
text message to her father. Students quickens his pace. He notes that people Tuesday, 2:24 p.m.
and staff in rooms next to the shooting are running toward the Safe School Of-
are trying to figure out what is going on, ficer Jim Sweeney, whose post in near Nine minutes have now elapsed. John
some open classroom doors to see the front doors. Seeing Officer Sweeney enters the academic wing of the High
what is taking place. the two male students trailing John start School, which contains both class-
yelling and pointing. John turns and rooms and offices. He begins to panic,
John stands over Mary’s body for a few fires a shot at the students and another breathing heavily, he brandishes his
seconds, then leaves the classroom in the direction of Officer Sweeney be- gun. He is running through the hallways
and walks towards the exit. He leaves fore breaking into a sprint and running looking for a way out, when a faculty
through the front doors as if nothing has into the academic wing of the school, member who is out in the hallway
happened. which had open doors as students and pulling students in and preparing to
staff were looking to see what was hap- lockdown collides with John, who in-
Questions pening. Officer Sweeney ducks for stinctively fires a shot striking the
cover and radios for help. woman in the midsection. She staggers
1. Were there any back into the classroom.
signs? A district employee who is a retired po-
lice officer hears the gunfire and sees A student inside the classroom rushes
2. If there were, the commotion. He sizes up the situa- to the door to help the teacher. He real-
what could have tion and runs to his car to retrieve the izes she has been shot. He yells to the
been done? 9mm handgun locked in his trunk. other students to close and lock the
door and turn off the lights and take
3. Why was noth- Linda Johnson, HS secretary contacts cover.
ing done? the Long Branch Police at 732-222-
1000. The operator has already re- At the sound of the gunshot, people
4. Are people afraid to report on some- ceived multiple calls and alerted begin to peer out into the hallway. John
body’s personal life? responding officers and EMS, continues running looking for a way out.

5. If a student came in with visibale in- V.J. Muscillo, lead principal at the High Officer Sweeney is outside the building
juries what would you do? School notifies Dr. Salvatore that an ac- and has radioed the rest of the safe
tive-shooter situation is in progress. school officers and administrators of the
6. How did John get into the building? situation. Sweeney stays outside and
Questions assumes a cover position and observes
6. If the administration was aware of the During these the four (4) minutes after the perimeter.
violence and problems between Mary the shooting what questions do you
and John, did they share that informa- have? Walter O’Neill, District Public Safety Li-
tion with school security? If they didn’t aison has overheard the radio commu-
they might have let John go in as Mary 1. Why did the two male students fol- nications and leaves 540 Broadway and
was well liked! low? arrives at the High School. Before he
arrives at the location he instructs all
7. If security knew could they have pre- 2. Was it a good idea that the retired po- schools to lockdown. A doctor and
vented the shooting? lice officer went to get his gun? Did any- nurse practitioner from the Health Cen-
one report to police that an armed ter hear of the incident and self-dispatch
PHASE 2 retired officer is also on the scene? to the shooting scene.

Tuesday, 2:19 p.m. 3. The one student who called his girl- Social media is full of various eyewit-
friend what implications does that ness reports of a gunman on the High
Two male students exit the library and have? Knowing the need for this gener- School campus. Students are tweeting
follow John at a distance, trying to fig- ation to post everything as it happens, and posting to Facebook that someone
ure out how to alert help without making will she be posting on social media and is running through the school shooting
themselves targets. One of them is what will that do to the HS scene? from classroom to classroom.
nervously trying to dial 9-1-1; the other
is on his phone whispering to his girl- 4. What other questions would you
friend, who attends Shore Regional have?
High School.

5

ever, John has become completely lost
and disoriented. He ducks behind the
butler building to try and catch his
breath and get his bearings.

One student uses a smartphone to arrived. He radios to dispatch that he is Within a few minutes, he hears shouting
video John running through the building assuming command and establishing and sees someone pointing at him. He
holding his gun above his head. An- an incident command post at the loca- starts to run but hears more shouting,
other student sends a text message to tion of his squad car. Other responding loud commands, and then gunfire di-
her friends that a gunman has taken officers from both the city and county rected at him. Suddenly he feels a
hostages in a classroom. are starting to arrive at the High School sharp burning sensation in his leg and
from various directions. falls to the ground but manages to hold
Two Long Branch Police Officers arrive on to his gun.
at the school. The officers are directed One EMS unit is nearby. They advise
to the area where the gunman was last their dispatch they will be staging at the John realizes he has been shot. He is
seen. edge of the campus until the scene is now in terrible physical pain and knows
secure. The first Long Branch fire de- he cannot run any more. The sound of
Mr. Freeman and Ms. Dudick are partment truck, which routinely re- sirens and shouting is deafening. The
reached at their conference. sponds with first aid, has arrived and is hopelessness of his situation com-
also staging at the edge of the campus. pletely overwhelms him. It sees clear
Questions? that he will not escape and has no rea-
You should have a lot! Dr. Salvatore is urgently trying to call son left to live. Lying on his back, John
the district but cannot get through. Kelly raises the gun to his head and pulls the
PHASE 4 McOmber, information officer for the trigger.
district, sends out the first emergency
Tuesday, 2:29 p.m. mass notification. The city police officers and safe school
officers see John shoot himself. They
John finally locates an exit. All he can Questions? hold their positions and observe him for
think about is trying to get his car to es- several seconds from a safe distance.
cape. He runs out the door toward 1. Why can’t Dr. Salvatore reach any- They cautiously approach and find that
where he believes he parked, but he one at the BOE or HS? Volume of calls he is unconscious and bleeding but still
has become disoriented. could possibly shut the system down. breathing. An officer kicks John’s gun
away; another radios for immediate
As John continues searching for his car, 2. What other issues can you think of medical assistance, while another
another safe school officer spots him that might be a problem during Phase handcuffs John.
and yells for him to stop. John fires a 4?
shot toward the safe school officer and It is now 2:36 p.m. just 21 minutes since
changes his direction of running. PHASE 5 John first walked into the High School.

Two uniformed Long Branch Police Of- Tuesday, 2:32 p.m. Reports of shooting and hostage situa-
ficers are now running toward the tion are now rampant on the internet. A
sound of the gunfire. 17 minutes have elapsed since the short, grainy cell phone video suppos-
shooting. John has managed to lose his edly showing the gunman running is
A K-9 officer from the Monmouth pursuers by weaving through the peo- posted on YouTube. Inquiry calls from
County Sheriff’s department has also ple who had run out of the school. How- local and national media overwhelm the
board and High School offices.

Dr. Salvatore has finally reached his ad-
ministrative assistant by cell phone and
received a quick briefing. Even local cell
towers are becoming overloaded.

EPILOGUE

6

Fatalities: 2 an active shooter. Talk about barriers in possible to prepare by planning, exer-
school emergency response, including cising, recognizing, and understanding
1st: Mary lack of personnel for containment of the what threats and hazards communities
2nd: Coworker scene, mass panic on the HS campus, face daily.
misinformation and the media, and the
Critically Injured: 3 potential overload of the communica- The connectivity of today’s world does
tions system. not permit the luxury of ignoring global
1st: Mary’s other coworker events and emerging threats. An indi-
2nd: Teacher Even after an event concludes, districts vidual with mental illness or by a group
3rd: John must facilitate community recovery by with a sinister agenda can twist the free
meeting the resulting psychological exchange of thoughts and ideas within
Long Branch High School is now a needs of those affected, and maintain- the educational environment. National
crime scene. Unlike the crime television ing daily operations and access to and international incidents demonstrate
shows, it will remain a crime scene for areas designated as crime scenes, re- the immense challenges of recognizing,
several days, not hours. So, what do sponding to media scrutiny just to name responding to, and coping with these
you do with the students? a fw. experiences.

Makeshift memorials are already start- Remember you can plan but until an in- In addition, to be able to recognize nat-
ing to appear near the High School ac- cident occurs you can’t plan on how ural hazards, each school district must
ademic wing. National and international people will respond. Fear is a crippling understand the unique landscape in
media outlets have picked up the story. emotion. which it resides. Hazards such as tor-
nados, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes,
McOmber has established a Joint Infor- The threats and hazards schools face and grass fires etc.
mation Center for distribution of public today come from many sources, and
media updates and staging area for ad- the stakes are simply too high for ad- The FBI has found evidence in recent
ditional equipment. Local and national ministrators to ignore. These threats events that have demonstrated that var-
reporters are on campus seeking inter- and hazards, whether human-caused ious international and domestic terrorist
views with students, parents, staff or or natural events, can have devastating organizations and individuals have
anyone who witnessed portions of the effects on schools and their communi- been and are currently students here in
tragic event. ties. While it is not possible to foresee the USA.
very contingency (no crystal ball) it is
Summary

First this is not a make-believe sce-
nario. It is an actual school shooting
that had occurred but the names and lo-
cation where changed so you could re-
late better.

After action reports showed that people
were willing to spread rumors, but when
an official report should have been
made about Mary and John, nobody
wanted to get involved.

Lockdown procedures were not fol-
lowed and it took a while to even make
the announcement. Communication
was poor between administration and
the safety unit. A lack of communication
between the local law enforcement and
school were also obvious.

So, take this scenario-based activity
and analyze district and local response
and capabilities when confronted with

Phillip Eisenstein, 28, had previously 7
been cleared of any criminal wrongdo-
ing after the New Jersey Department of vided no indication on the status of their
Children and Families reviewed video of review or whether he would be rein-
the incident, interviewed staff and deter- stated. The Atlantic City native had
mined that no excessive force or abuse been asked to resign but refused to do
occurred. so.

According to The Press of Atlantic City, The appeal will likely come down to a
Eisenstein said he attempted to break distinction between "reasonable" and
up the fight multiple times before even- "excessive" force. Though New Jersey
tually grabbing one of the students from law prohibits corporal punishment, "rea-
behind and pulling him into a school of- sonable" force is permitted when the
fice. disturbance threatens physical injury to
others.
“I’d already broken them up two or three
Ned Rogovoy, Eisenstein's attorney,
says his client tried to mediate the situ-

N.J. gym teacher fired times and had them sitting on the ation several times, called for help and
after breaking up bleachers,” Eisenstein said. “But when then acted to protect a student once it
school fight they were lining up to leave, the bigger became clear that school security offi-
student went after the other one again cers were not immediately available to
Phillip Eisenstein, 28, awaits deci- and had him cornered. I did what I had back him up.
sion on school board appeal over to do to protect the other student.”
October fight Though the student was examined at Marcia Genova, President of the At-
the nurse's office and later returned to lantic City Education Association, said
April 3, 2016 class, school officials suspended Eisen- that if Eisenstein's appeal is rejected,
Philly Voice stein with pay before ultimately firing the teacher's union will take the case to
him. Eisenstein appealed the decision arbitration.
A physical education teacher at an At- last week, but the school board pro-
lantic City elementary school has lost
his job after school officials determined
he used "excessive force" to break up
an October fight between two sixth
graders at the New York Avenue
School.

School social media County does not currently have a social 8
policies scrutinized after media policy, according to spokesper-
son Rick Hightower. Runkle said people in authority should
misconduct cases not be “friending” youth for whom they
emerge Mount Vernon’s policy allows social are responsible, Runkle said.
media contact among staff members “Students should not have private
April 5, 2016 and students as long as it related to phone numbers and other private con-
6 ABC News “curricular matters or co-curricular/ex- tacts of adults in those situations; par-
tracurricular events or activities with ents or guardians should have that
Mount Vernon is just the latest in a se- prior approval of the principal.” information and do the corresponding,”
ries of cases involving alleged sexual said Runkle.
misconduct with central Indiana teach- Lawrence Township in Marion County
ers, counselors and coaches and their has a policy that states all electronic Weapon found at
students. communication from staff to Painesville’s
students/parents should be profes-
In the cases of Park Tudor coach Kyle sional. Harvey High School
Cox, IPS counselor Shana Taylor, and
Mount Vernon’s substitute teacher Lawrence Township policy encourages
Kisha Nuckols -- all three school em- staff to think about showing social
ployees are accused of sexual miscon- media posts to the following people:
duct, and communicated with their “Your mother, your students, your su-
alleged victims via social media includ- perintendent.”
ing Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat.
Call 6 Investigates has learned many

Fox News 8 Cleveland
April 5, 2016

Call 6 Investigates did some checking school districts allow teachers and PAINESVILLE, Ohio– Police in
Monday and found the policies vary school employees to interact with stu- Painesville are investigating after a
greatly from school district to school dis- dents via social media for many rea- weapon was found in a high school
trict when it comes to school employees sons, including classroom projects and bathroom.
communicating with students via social after-hours homework questions.
media. Painesville police said school officials
Critics argue that social media relation- found out about an alleged weapon hid-
For example, in Noblesville the district ships, especially those that happen in den in the bathroom at Harvey High
policy says employees should not private messages, can blur the lines be- School.
“friend” a current student who is not a tween teacher and student.
family member on a personal site, and The school resource officer recovered
that “friending” parents of students is Sandy Runkle, spokesperson of Pre- the item. School officials said the build-
discouraged “as it blurs the line be- vent Child Abuse Indiana, said parents ing was never placed on lockdown. A
tween the personal and professional should ask for their district’s policy. K-9 unit from the Geauga County Sher-
life.” iff’s Office searched Harvey High
“We would discourage a social media School.
Noblesville recommends staff members relationship in terms of any one-on-
create alternative ways to communicate one,” said Runkle. “It’s hard to envision Police said they will test the weapon to
classroom activities with parents, such any reason to be privately contacting a determine if it is an operational firearm.
as a blog, a classroom webpage, or a child through social media. If some kind
Facebook “fan” page specifically for that of correspondence is necessary, then a
purpose. parent or guardian should be made
aware, and they should be copied on
Perry Township Schools in Marion the correspondence.”

9

environment. A collaborative threat as-
sessment process involving faculty
must be able to differentiate between
nonthreatening creative materials or
the emotional venting and indications
of an emergency plan of violence. Fac-
ulty must understand that the assess-
ment process is discrete and protects
the privacy rights of students unless a
substantial threat is identified.

Eliminating silos is Here are eight (8) Share Responsibility
critical to successful important behaviors to The school environment is very di-
remember during a crisis verse, and we come into contact with
school emergency many types of people. Administrators
planning effort. Avoid Tunnel Vision must utilize this when developing
Schools must recognize when forming safety plans. The safety of a school is
The term silo refers to the tendency for a crisis team or a security team that the shared responsibility of the entire
schools to try to respond without addi- members do not become myopic in surrounding community.
tional assistance during an emergency their assessment strategy, looking only
response. The silo approach repre- at potential threats from students. A Pinpoint Dangerous Individuals
sents a failure of the schools to prop- school is a microcosm of society, em- All threats must be taken seriously, but
erly integrate and coordinate the ployees, and visitors as potential not all of them are acted upon. School
emergency operations plan with intra- sources of threats. In this context, safety officials must distinguish be-
agency and interagency partners. schools must establish an assessment tween a person who merely makes
process that includes collaboration of threats and a person with the potential
Silo may also reflect the reluctance of internal and external stakeholders. for violence. A communicated threat
schools, or departments to work to- may just be part of the leakage process
gether during a crisis. Recognize School Values or someone seeking attention. Only a
Safety and security officials must rec- through investigative process, based
Many schools work in silos, but don’t ognize that policies that appear to in- on the total picture of the subject’s be-
want to admit it. The essence of suc- fringe upon the principles of openness havior, will determine the reality of a
cessful emergency planning is elimi- and free thought of the district/school threat.
nating silos wherever they exist. Doing environment can be counterproductive.
so creates the proper environment for Rigid, harsh policies will not garner Do Not Rely on Expulsion
integrating and coordinating emer- support from district/school stakehold- Detention or Out of School
gency response plans with all partners. ers. There must be communication and Expulsion, detention and out of school
interaction between those looking for may not be the best mechanism
information and those who will be able against threating actions. It could
to provide it. Students, faculty, and staff cause humiliation that might trigger vi-
must recognize they are critical to the olent action or prevent a student from
process of building a safer school. getting proper assistance, monitoring,
Public safety officials must be proac- and treatment. Of course removal may
tive and reach out to stakeholders to be required for grievous offenses, but
raise awareness of the team’s values monitoring an individual through school
and mission. mental health services or the judicial
process is another mechanism that
Assess Threatening professionals need to consider.
Communications
Use a Single Point of Contact
Stakeholders must understand how to The wide range of mental health treat-
identify troubling behavior and the ments could lead to multiple points of
process of confidential reporting with- contact for a single student under con-
out endangering the creative school tinued monitoring. This can be frustrat-
ing to the individual and may hinder
treatment.

10

carrying out two bomb threats.

"As a 14-year-old boy, I don't think he
thought big picture," said Chief Felix
Carr, Laureldale Police Department.

Investigators said the suspect admitted
to being behind two threatening mes-
sages found written on the walls of two
boys bathrooms at Muhlenberg Middle
School.

Multiple points of contact can also be Definition: Behavioral Leakage "He didn't realize the seriousness of
detrimental to the monitoring process if Occurs when a person unintentionally what he was doing. There was no real
critical information slips through the or intentionally discloses feelings, reason. He just didn't understand the
cracks. It may be best to have a single thoughts, possible intentions, or fan- ramifications of doing what he did," Carr
point of contact with responsibility for tasies. Fascination with violence or vio- said.
follow-up. lent entertainment may also indicate
leakage. Thanks to surveillance footage and the
There is no one-size-fits-all solution meticulous system the school uses to
Boy, 14, in custody after 3rd monitor students who use the bath-
Behavioral Assessments bomb threat at Muhlenberg rooms, officials said they were able to
Schools are beset with behaviors, pinpoint the culprit.
events, and problems that require a so- Middle School
phisticated law enforcement presence. "We are going to prosecute the individ-
The very nature of educational facilities 69 WFMZ-TV News ual, and we are going to expel the indi-
suggests the need for a unique ap- Eastern PA & Western NJ vidual under the Pennsylvania School
proach to dealing with potential acts of Code," said Joseph MacHarola, Muh-
violence and their prevention. LAURELDALE, Pa. - A 14-year-old mid- lenberg School District superintendent.
dle-school student is set to learn a hard
The universally recurring theme is that lesson after, police said, he admitted And then Thursday, hundreds of stu-
individuals who act out violently in a dents had to evacuate after another
school setting have had personal diffi- bomb threat was discovered at the mid-
culties over time and have been noted dle school. Authorities are still looking
by others in their community. These stu- for the perpetrator.
dents may feel hurt or misunderstood,
may have problems academically, and It was the third in just the past week,
are often depressed and in despair. At forcing a sea of students to move to the
times, these students or individuals may high school for safety
appear on the radar of school officials
or other students and staff through a
process called behavior leakage.

This leakage can take many forms;
such as pomes, drawings, threats, pre-
dictions, or boasts and may be visible
to fellow students, staff, or faculty mem-
bers. Targeted violence is rarely an im-
pulsive act. When individuals observe
or suspect they are witnessing leakage,
they should immediately contact school
security, administration and police if se-
rious.

11

And as many of those students prepare Bradley County Sheriff’s office confirms “We should have been told about this
for crucial exams at the end of the se- to News 12 a threat was found inside a sooner.”.
mester, they said this is the last type of Bradley Central High School bathroom.
disruption they need. The district could not be reached for
According to parents who have stu- comment late-Thursday evening.
"I think it's pretty dumb and immature," dents in the school district, the threat
said David Medina, a high school stu- was to do harm to students on Friday, A slew of threats have been hitting the
dent. reportedly “shoot up the school.” area lately, most notably at Ooltewah
after scandals plagued that district.
Authorities said they recognize that the Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson
suspect is very young, but also said he says that they do not find the threat Cops: Bus driver charged in
still needs to be taught a tough lesson. credible. As of 8:51 p.m. on Thursday, death of special
school was in session for Friday. needs student
"You're heart aches. Kids do make bad
decisions, and those decision, at times, “The Sheriff’s Office takes children’s April 4, 2016
are very devastating, but you need to safety very seriously,” the Sheriff said in CNN
be held accountable for those deci- a release. “As a matter of precaution,
sions. We're not doing anybody any fa- Chief Deputy Brian Smith and I, in ad- A school bus driver has been charged
vors in their life by brushing this over," dition to extra law enforcement person- in connection to the death of a special
said MacHarola. nel, will be assigned to Bradley Central needs student, who was allegedly left
High School. Parents should be as- on a hot bus for several hours.
Authorities said bomb-sniffing K9s will sured this office will be pro-active in
be on the premises Friday morning as dealing with any threats received at any In September 2015, police were dis-
a precautionary measure. school.” patched to a bus yard in Whittier, Cali-
fornia, where they found the student,
The suspect is facing a long list of crim- The Sheriff says they were not able to Hun Joon “Paul” Lee, laying on a
inal charges, including terroristic find who wrote the threat. parked bus floor, the Los Angeles
threats, reckless endangerment, and County District Attorney’s Office said in
threats to a school facility with an explo- Several district parents say they were a news release.
sive device. He is scheduled to appear not notified about the threat.
before a judge on Friday Several bus drivers were performing
CPR on the 19-year-old student when
police arrived.

Paramedics arrived on the scene and
attempted to resuscitate Lee, but he
was soon pronounced dead, officials
said.

The temperature that day reached 90
degrees and all of the windows on the
bus were closed, according to the news
release.

THREAT TO “SHOOT UP “My son told me about the threat on Police immediately began an investiga-
SCHOOL” FOUND INSIDE Wednesday,” said mother Tracy Ross. tion into Lee’s death and learned he
“One of my son’s teachers even asked was a student at Sierra Adult School
BRADLEY CENTRAL the class about the rumor…I have a big who could not verbally communicate
HIGH BATHROOM issue with that and will be calling the and needed special care, the news re-
school tomorrow.” lease states.
April 7, 2016
WDEF.com Another mother, Tiffany Hutson, said Lee, who had autism and the mental ca-
she is not sending her child to school. pacity of a 3-year-old, would not have
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – been able to call out for help, his mother
told CNN affiliate KTLA.

The bus driver, identified by police as “Paul Lee’s loss was devastating for all 12
Armando Abel Ramirez, allegedly of us,” Pupil Transportation Cooperative
thought Lee had gotten off of the bus to said in a statement provided to HLN. A spokeswoman for the Department of
go to school on the day of his death, “While we cannot comment on the ar- Education called the discovery of the
prosecutors said. rest, we continue to work as an organi- gun "deeply alarming."

"Nothing is more important than the
safety of all students and staff and there
is zero tolerance for weapons of any
kind," said Toya Holness, in an email.
"Students and staff are safe and no in-
juries were sustained. Parents will be
notified and we are providing ongoing
supports to the school community.”

It's the fourth time in less than a month
that a student has been caught bringing
a loaded gun into a New York City
school.

Ramirez, however, never walked to the zation to ensure something like this Three incidents were reported in March
rear of his bus and “did not look over his never happens again by implementing alone: a 14-year-old boy brought a gun
shoulder to check that any one was left protocols and mandates that exceed into MS 61 in Crown Heights; an 11-
in the vehicle at the end of his morning state standards.” year-old boy was caught with a loaded
shift,” the news release states. 9 mm handgun at a Queens school;
13-Year-Old Boy Threatens and a student was found with a loaded
Ramirez, who was a substitute driver Girl With Loaded Gun at .38-caliber revolver at York Early Col-
for Lee’s bus, then returned to the bus School: NYPD lege Academy, also in Queens.
yard, filled out paperwork, and left for
home, the document adds. NBC-NY Gregory Floyd, president of Local 237,
said school safety agents want more
After returning to work later that day for Three boys have been arrested after metal detectors in schools.
the second part of his shift, Ramirez one of them threatened a girl at their
learned that Lee was missing. He went Upper East Side school with a loaded "These are non-scanning schools that
to his bus, found Lee unresponsive, and gun, officials said. these guns are being found in, so that
called for help, prosecutors said. negates the argument that we need to
Police said a 13-year-old boy allegedly get rid of metal detectors. Actually, we
Following an investigation, Ramirez menaced a 12-year-old girl at P.S. 169 need to increase metal detectors," he
was charged on March 25 with one with the gun, which was later found in said.
felony count of dependent adult abuse another 15-year-old student's locker, in-
resulting in death. He was released side his jacket pocket. Some parent groups and advocates
from custody after posting bond, jail have called for getting rid of the detec-
records show. He is due back in court Another student, a 14-year-old boy, had tors. They say they're now unneeded
on April 25. a box of extra bullets for the gun, ac- because of low crime rates, and they
cording to police. condemn them as discriminatory, since
If convicted as charged, Ramirez faces they generally sit in schools serving mi-
a maximum sentence of nine years in Police said it's not clear whether the boy nority neighborhoods.
state prison, the district attorney’s office who threatened the girl actually brought
said. the loaded 22 mm gun to school, al- The last time a student was fatally shot
though the school safety agents' union, in a New York City school was a double
HLN was not immediately able to deter- Local 237, said earlier the 13-year-old killing in Brooklyn in 1992. The last
mine if Ramirez has retained an attor- boy smuggled it into school in his shooting was on Jan. 12, 2002, when a
ney. He could not be reached for hoodie. 17-year-old boy at Martin Luther King
comment. Jr. High School on the Upper West Side
All three boys were taken into custody, shot two teenagers in the back after
police said. Charges are pending. they teased his girlfriend and pulled a
bandana off her head. Both survived.

13

14

Administrators

drop the ball on

mandatory reporting:

District pays big

A Connecticut district agreed to
shell out big bucks after a
teacher had sex with a student
— and school administrators
looked the other way.

The Stamford School District has In a plea deal, Watkins pleaded those laws vary widely by state
agreed to pay $750,000 over a guilty to a second-degree sexual
25-year period to a teenager who assault charge in exchange for
had a sexual relationship with a the minimum jail sentence: 9
teacher at Stamford High. months.

In 2014, English teacher Danielle State Statutes on Mandatory Reporters of
Watkins, 32, was caught having Child Abuse & Neglect
a sexual relationship with a 17-
year-old male student. They ex- www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/manda.pdf
changed thousands of text
messages, some of which in-
cluded nude photos, according to
police reports.

Even after learning about the re- In “Mandatory Reporters of Child
lationship between the teacher Abuse and Neglect,” the feds
and student, the principal and outline state-specific details
vice principal didn’t contact state about legal obligations, including
authorities as required. They the:
were both charged with failure to
report. 1. standards of making a report

In mediation, the school district 2. inclusion of the reporter’s
agreed to pay the student to re- name in the report, and
solve any potential civil lawsuit, a
spokesperson said. 3. disclosure of the reporter’s
identity.
Editor’s note: All 50 states and
Washington, D.C. have laws The above link will take you to a
identifying people who must re- FREE Federal publication.
port suspected child abuse. But

15

16

Providing Hope will be at the show talking about the LBPS gardens
Sodexo will be handing out “Jersey Fresh” samples

17

Black Separatist Extremists Black separatist extremist groups in cessfully organ-
New Jersey are disorganized and focus ized a rally in
Black separatist extremists are individ- on activities related to narcotics, illegal April 2011, when
uals or groups that seek to establish an weapons, and financial crime. it protested a Na-
independent nation for people of African tional Socialist
descent through force or violence. NBPP members operating in New Jer- Movement gath-
These groups claim superiority over sey are unlikely to plot or conduct vio- ering outside the
whites, are typically anti-Semitic, and lent acts despite the hate-based State House in
oppose integration and racial intermar- rhetoric they espouse because of their Trenton (Mercer
riag lack of consistent leadership and the ar- County).
rests of key members.
The intent and capabilities of black sep- New Jersey NBPP members are known
aratist groups vary by chapter and re- In November 2014, federal authorities to attach to other NBPP chapters or so-
gion. At least two groups are active in arrested two NBPP members—Bran- cial activist groups during highly publi-
New Jersey—New Black Panther Party don Orlando Baldwin and Olajuwon Ali cized racial incidents, including recent
(NBPP) and the Israelite Church of God Davis—for plotting to attack the police protests in Ferguson; Sanford, Florida;
in Jesus Christ (ICGJC). NBPP portrays chief in Ferguson, Missouri, the county and Baltimore, Maryland.
itself as a militant, modern expression prosecutor, a police station, and an ar-
of the original Black Panther Party, mored police vehicle. Baldwin and ICGJC’s leader is a New Jersey resi-
while ICGJC justifies its rhetoric with re- Davis were plotting in reaction to the dent who oversees churches in at least
ligious ideology and believes its mem- killing of an unarmed teenager, Michael 10 states. ICGJC is not known to be vi-
bers are the true descendants of Brown, by a Ferguson police officer. olent, but some members participate in
Hebrews. NBPP and ICGJC promote criminal activity, particularly financial
violent and hate-based rhetoric against NEW JERSEY NEXUS crimes they believe are ordained by
law enforcement, government officials, God to help members survive in a
Jews, and whites. In November, a NBPP protest was “white-dominated world.”
scheduled at a Walmart in Kearny (Hud-
THREAT TO NEW JERSEY: LOW son County), but no members showed
up. The New Jersey NBPP last suc-

INTELLIGENCE GAPS

Are any black separatist extremist
groups plotting to conduct attacks in
New Jersey?

How many black separatist extremists
are operating in New Jersey?

Is there a regional NBPP leader coordi-
nating members in New Jersey?

What is the financial status of ICGJC?

Baldwin and Davis pled guilty to federal
explosives and weapons charges and
each were sentenced to seven years in
prison.


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