WAVE Safety and Security 12-18-15

EMERGENCY Anderson told the boy that he'd be with only 7% failing to complete their
DRILL THIS MONTH bored at home. He told him he would programs.
trouble his mother. He called in a school
ACTIVE SHOOTER administrator to help. In the end, the The reform builds on earlier efforts to
mother decided to take her son home end tickets for truancy, which resulted
must be done this week and try again later. in a steep decline in citations to 3,499
in 2013 from 11,698 in 2010. In the last
L.A. Unified sees success in "Instead of sending kids to court on tick- year, he said, about 460 students who
counseling rather than arrest- ets, we're using diversion programs to would otherwise have been cited were
ing truants and kids who fight counsel them and talk about why sent to counseling instead, with only 7%
they're truant," said Anderson, a 20- failing to complete their programs.
November 30, 2015 year school police veteran. "We try to
Los Angeles Times work with parents. Our main goal is to All told, more than 770 students were
get the kids to school." sent to counseling in lieu of tickets for
st before 8 a.m. at Peary Middle School truancy, minor offenses and misde-
in Gardena, a boy was refusing to leave Anderson is one of 405 sworn L.A. Uni- meanor battery charges during the
his mother's car. The school police offi- fied police officers who, along with more 2014-15 school year.
cer on duty could have barked orders at than 125 safety officers, make up the
him to get to class. He could have writ- nation's largest independent school po- Manuel Criollo of the Community Rights
ten him up for truancy. He could have lice force. Across the nation, campus of- Campaign, a Los Angeles civil-rights or-
forcibly moved him — as a South Car- ficers are facing criticism that they're ganization that helped forge the new
olina police officer did to a student last pushing children into a "school-to- approach, has praised police for em-
month, sparking a national uproar. prison pipeline" with citations, arrests bracing the reforms. But he advocates
and excessive force for issues that eliminating all law-enforcement officers
But Los Angeles Unified School Police could be resolved by other means. Na- from campus and using the $59 million
Officer Henry Anderson did none of tional studies show that one arrest dou- annual police budget for more coun-
that. Instead, he tried to cajole the boy bles a student's odds of dropping out. selors, social workers and other student
with friendly persuasion and ever-so- But in L.A. Unified, police Chief Steven support staff instead.
subtle appeals to guilt. Zipperman and his force worked with
community organizations to launch a "While our organizing has brought
"What's up, man?" the lean and lanky greater protection for [district] students
officer said, greeting the boy. "You're all landmark reform last year that has from being criminalized, South Carolina
dressed up and ready to go. C'mon." ended citations for most fights, petty shows us what can be the conse-
thefts and other minor offenses in favor quences of having police in school,"
The Times' new education initiative to of redirection into counseling programs. Criollo said. "They don't belong in our
inform parents, educators and students In the last year, he said, about 460 stu- schools."
across California >> dents who would otherwise have been
cited were sent to counseling instead, Zipperman, however, said campus po-
lice were essential.

"We're here to ensure the safety of stu-
dents, teachers and staff," he said. "Our
school police officers aren't storm troop-
ers coming onto campus. These are of-
ficers who interact with the kids every
day. They are role models."

At Peary, a campus of 1,500 largely Later, Isaiah came back to Anderson's saulted others and texted sexual photos
low-income minority students, Ander- office. of schoolmates. He has also handled
son describes himself as not only an of- difficult parents who he says are failing
ficer but also a counselor, parent and "You have any advice to get away from to teach their children responsibility, or
friend. His multiple roles were apparent getting into trouble?" the boy asked give up on them completely and ask
during a recent visit. him. him to throw them in jail.

Roaming the campus throughout the Anderson told him to stay away from "Our job isn't easy," he said. "We deal
day, Anderson called out to students, bad influences, including his friends with kids with a lot of emotional prob-
asking what they had for breakfast and who hop the school fence and sneak off lems. We deal with defiant kids who
joking about football. A group of stu- to the snack store. won't listen to you if you don't have a
dents surrounded him, asking questions gun and a badge, and even then they
about his sharp blue uniform, metallic "Don't hop with them. You know right may not listen."
badge and heavy belt holding his black from wrong. Anytime you do something
holstered gun. wrong, there's going to be a conse- But the job brings joy, he said — espe-
quence. Why even take that chance? cially when he can help others out. In
A scowling boy told the officer that a girl You have any problems with anything, one case, he used his rapport with stu-
had hit him. Anderson took out his note- we'll help you get through it. The last dents to find out who stole a teacher's
book, wrote down the girl's name and thing I want to do is arrest you and write cellphone. The perpetrator had denied
promised to talk to her. "Don't let any a ticket." his involvement to the teacher and his
girl get you upset," he said. parents but confessed to Anderson after
Isaiah smiled. "Thank you," he said. the officer said it was probably caught
Shortly before lunch, he mediated a on camera (it wasn't) and if he came
conflict between two boys and their Anderson, a 48-year-old South Los An- clean Anderson could help him avoid an
families. Sporting two blue band-aids geles native who attended University arrest.
covering cuts sustained after being High, said he was drawn to law enforce-
pushed to the ground, sixth-grader ment after visiting courtrooms as a During his six years at Peary, he has
Justin Burdette told Anderson that sev- messenger in a law firm. After complet- come to know many of the students: the
enth-grader Isaiah Cerpa hit him when ing police training, he applied to seven kid with a "mouth on him." The "little in-
Justin tried to break up a fight between agencies; L.A. Unified was the first to stigator." The "good kid who makes
Isaiah and a smaller student. Isaiah ad- call. dumb decisions." And they know him.
mitted guilt but said that Justin had in-
sulted his mother.

"When you put your hands on some-
one, that's battery and you could go to
jail," Anderson told Isaiah. "If it happens
again you might get arrested. If you
have problems with anyone, come see
me or the dean. Don't take it into your
own hands."

Isaiah nodded, then at Anderson's Over the years, he has dealt with stu- "He be cool about problems — he does-
prompting apologized to Justin and the dents who have smoked marijuana, n't yell. He gives us warnings," says
parents. Both sets of parents said they stolen cellphones and laptops, as- Jaquazz Harvey, 13.
were satisfied with the outcome.

In the dean's office, several boys sus- one parent said. ifornia newsletter >>
pected of throwing water balloons at Anderson headed back to his office,
passing cars gave Anderson a thumbs breaking into a grin. The fire was reported about 12:25 a.m.
up. Ivan Andrew Luna, an eighth- "Made it through the day," he said. as flames swept through the school's
grader, said Anderson listens to every- administrative offices and counseling
one's side of the story with patience. Teen is arrested after a area. Firefighters stopped the flames
Molotov cocktail causes a fire from reaching adjacent classrooms.
"I feel safer with him around school,"
Ivan said. "He protects us." at Monrovia High Authorities estimate the blaze caused
between $500,000 to $1 million in dam-
But not everyone agrees. "You need to December 1, 2015 age. The school is located in the 800
get them off campus," one boy said of Los Angels Times block of West Colorado Boulevard.
school police.
A motivation for the crime was not im-
Before the day ended, Anderson would mediately clear, according to Lee.
break up two schoolyard fights, counsel
a girl about her rocky relationship with
a teacher, gently chide a boy who left
campus for the snack store and get
tough when he needed to. He gave a
stern talk to two boys about their treat-
ment of a teacher that was caught on
video.

"Stay out of his face unless you want a
problem — I'm talking about a problem
with me," he told the boys.

But most of the time, Anderson projects A 17-year-old student was arrested Classes will continue Monday as fire-
himself as a positive, fatherly mentor, early Monday for allegedly hurling a fighters and police investigate the
Principal Marva Patton says. Molotov cocktail into the administrative blaze.
offices of Monrovia High School and
"He shows the police in a different light sparking a fire, police said. WAVE Safety & Security News
— not as someone to fear but as some-
one to help you," said Desdra Butler, an The student was found hiding in the Produced by the LBPS
operations coordinator with the district's area and taken into custody on suspi- Security Department
local office covering South L.A. cion of arson, Monrovia police said. No
name was released because the sus- Walter J. O’Neill, Jr
"I have 1,000 kids," Anderson said. "I pect is a minor. 540 Broadway
like them to feel I do care for them but
they need to know they've got school “He acted by himself,” police Lt. Michael Long Branch, NJ 07740
rules to follow. " Lee said. 732-571-2868, Ext. 40911

As the day winded down, Anderson had Interested in the stories shaping Califor- [email protected]
a final task: telling parents that their chil- nia? Sign up for the free Essential Cal-
dren had gotten into scuffles that day.
He assured them that the issues would
be resolved. "Well, as long as it's over,"

Barrington student accused Barrington Police Chief Dave Dorn said Monday, and many chose to leave
of carrying gun, drugs in the 16-year-old boy no longer had the school early.
school handgun with him when he was ar-
rested. But senior Micah Giffey said she was
November 30, 2015 not concerned about returning to
Daily Herald The weapon was later recovered from classes Tuesday.
a bag in his locker, Dorn said.
A 16-year-old Barrington High School "The security's pretty good here," she
student is facing multiple felony gun and The gun was not loaded, but there was said. "They handled it pretty well."
drug charges after authorities say he ammunition in the bag, he said.
took a handgun to school Monday Giffey said she was present when the
morning, but police are still investigating The 16-year-old male student is accused student was apprehended by
what he planned to do with it. charged with unlawful use of weapon police. She said she overheard him tell
on public school grounds, unlawful pos- someone that he might know why the
School officials enacted a hard lock- session of an unloaded handgun with- lockdown was happening.
down of the campus at 10:35 a.m., after out a FOID card, unlawful possession
a staff member saw the handgun fall out of a controlled substance (38 Strattera Giffey said she was thankful the boy
of the boy's backpack in a school bath- pills, 3 Xanax bars, less than 10 grams surrendered peacefully. "I'm hoping (the
room, police said. The staff member of psilocybin mushrooms), possession gun) wasn't for a shooting or anything."
alerted administrators, and officials of cannabis with intent to deliver and
used surveillance video from inside the possession of less than 10 grams of Kevin Harris, a freshman, said he was
bathroom to identify the student, said cannabis. in history class when the emergency
Jeff Arnett, assistant superintendent for lockdown began.
operations and outreach for Barrington The most serious charge is a felony
Area Unit District 220. punishable by a maximum two to five He said students did not get much infor-
years in prison, though probation is pos- mation about why the lockdown was en-
According to a joint statement from the acted.
school district and the Barrington Police
Department, police were on the scene
within a minute of being called.

"The student was located, with an un- sible on all counts. "I didn't really know what was happen-
loaded handgun and ammunition in a ing," he said.
backpack," the statement reads. "The The boy is being charged as a juvenile
student was quickly apprehended, and was taken to the Robert W. Depke "It kind of seemed like a drill at first be-
questioned to ensure there were no ac- Juvenile Justice Complex in Vernon cause you don't know that this could
complices, and transported off campus Hills. happenm" Harris said.
in police custody. The entire incident
lasted less than one hour, before stu- Students were shaken by the events
dents and staff were allowed to return
to their normal activities."

The building's entrances and the doors
to every classroom were locked during
the lockdown, which was lifted at 11:20
a.m., said District 220 spokeswoman
Morgan Delack.

Barrington High Principal Steve that supports the LGBT community. High School in South Carolina.
McWilliams called the high school "one
of the safest places in Barrington." A senior at Richlands High, Rebecca Question is, how can you avoid getting
Young wore a T-shirt that read, “Some caught in a similar situation?
"We don't have control over everything, people are gay, Get over it.”
but we do our very best that there is that It doesn’t matter whether you’re an
high degree of safety in the building," he Although no one said anything about SRO, a principal or a teacher – if you’re
said. "If students are concerned they the shirt throughout the day, principal an adult working in a school, the cards
should certainly reach out to us so we Micah Landers called Rebecca to the are stacked against you.
can have a conversation with them and front of the cafeteria just before stu-
work with our counselors to make sure dents were dismissed, the suit claims. Fact is, there will always be:
they feel safe." There, he publicly admonished Re-
becca for wearing the shirt to school. • A kid who refuses to cooperate with
In an email sent later Monday to par- you, and
ents, students and staff members, Landers told Rebecca that she could • A recording device of some kind in
McWilliams said school would resume not wear that shirt — or any other that your immediate vicinity.
as normal Tuesday. supported the LGBT community, ac-
cording to the lawsuit. If she did, she And that’s a dangerous one-two punch
"Please be assured our campus will be risked being suspended or expelled. because, as you know, video footage
safe, secure and closely monitored as rarely shows the full story.
it is every day," McWilliams wrote. Angry mom calls school
Quick recap of what happened at
It is the second time this school year Rebecca’s mother called the principal Spring Valley: When the student re-
Barrington High officials have had to and the board of education about the T- fused to turn over her phone, the
heighten security in response to a pos- shirt ban. The school refused to budge teacher called the SRO.
sible threat. on the issue, saying the T-shirt would:
When the SRO arrived, the girl refused
In September, officials were alerted to a * make Rebecca a target for bullies to cooperate. Not surprisingly, other stu-
threat to kill students made over the so- * provoke other students, and dents pulled out their cell phones and
cial media site Snapchat. * cause distractions at school. recorded the incident.

A former student later was charged with The ACLU stepped in with a letter, ask- Footage looks bad – real bad
making the threat, which authorities ing the school to rescind the ban on the
said he did not intend to carry out. shirt. When the school failed to, the At least three videos posted on social
ACLU filed suit on Rebecca’s behalf, al- media show – among other things – the
ACLU: Principal overstepped leging a violation of her rights under the student being forcefully removed from
bounds with T-shirt ban First Amendment her desk by the SRO.

December 2, 2015 You discipline, they record: Public outrage led to the officer being
Avoiding the ‘gotcha’ moment put on leave without pay, pending an in-
The American Civil Liberties Union vestigation.
(ACLU) has filed suit against a Ten- December 2015
nessee principal and the county board Now the feds are involved in the case
of education, claiming the defendants By now you’ve probably seen the but it’s too little, too late for the officer
violated a student’s speech rights by videos showing a white SRO forcibly ar- who was tried and convicted in the court
prohibiting her from wearing a T-shirt resting a black student at Spring Valley of public opinion – as the district told the
him not to bother coming back.

So the officer’s out of a job. Kid still won’t listen: Now what? Students wanted the school to rescind
Trump’s invitation to speak because
Lesson: 4 keys to compliance Let’s say you’re in the middle of a situ- they felt his rhetoric about immigrants
ation with a student. You’ve kept your violated the school’s anti-bullying poli-
At the National School Safety Confer- cool, spoken in a calm voice and gone cies.
ence in Las Vegas, SRO Michael through the steps – but the kid flat-out
Rudinski shared strategies to help you refuses to cooperate. Latino students bullied
gain compliance when students are act-
ing out: The student has painted you into a cor- One-third of West High’s student body
ner. You have to act, and there are is Hispanic – and many have taken of-
1. Ask instead of command. As a gen- about a dozen cell phones pointed at fense to the inflammatory comments
eral rule, most people prefer to be you – just waiting to capture footage Trump has made.
asked rather than ordered to do some- that questions your integrity and threat-
thing. Don’t be shy about saying ens your career. What’s your best Even worse, some non-Hispanic stu-
“please.” As the adult in the situation, move? dents have started chanting Trump’s
you know that kindness does not equal name at Latino students, protesters
weakness. Clear the room, Rudinski said. At this said.
point, you’re likely to be pretty frustrated
2. Explain the reason. Students are just with the student, so it might be tempting More than 1,400 students and parents
like adults – most of us want to know to teach the stubborn kid a lesson, signed a petition urging the district to
the reasons we’re being asked to do make an example of him or her to class- cancel the event – but it refused. About
something. And if students don’t like the mates who are watching and so on. 700 people protested at the event, car-
reasons, they’re going to try to push rying signs that read:
you. That’s what kids do But you are the professional. Here’s
where you have to check your ego at • Mr. Hate leave my state.
3. Explain the options. Here’s where the door, Rudinski said. You don’t have • Stand against racist bullying.
you want to outline the good, the bad to put on a show for anyone. • We need leaders to unite us not divide
and a win-win scenario. For example, us.
you might say, “If you put your phone Clear the room before you arrest the • Stand up. Speak now. Prevent bully-
away, I’ll leave you alone. But if you student. Doing so removes the kid’s au- ing. Info: bit.ly/protest896
don’t, I’m going to have to [state conse- dience and reduces your chance of
quences]. I don’t want to be the bad guy looking bad on film while you’re com-
today. How about you put it away and pleting the not-so-pretty aspects of your
let me off the hook, OK?” job

4. If all else fails, confirm that the stu- Trump bullying: Students
dent refuses to comply with a closed take a stand in Iowa
question. For example, ask “Is there
anything I can do to get you to cooper- December 2015
ate with me today?” Requiring a yes or
no answer forces the kid to make a de- In Iowa, hundreds of students at West
cision. High School protested the scheduled
appearance of presidential candidate
The key is, you have to keep your cool Donald Trump.
and speak in a calm tone, Rudinski told
attendees.

New law: No ‘Redskins’ team
name or mascot

While the “Redskins” debate continues
in professional football, one state has
banned the word from public schools’
teams and mascots.

This feature provides a framework for “No, I was called when things started Often leading the way in many legal
decision making that helps keep you getting out of hand though,” he said. changes, California’s the first state in
and your school out of trouble. It de- “When I got there, the kids were push- the nation to prohibit public schools
scribes a recent legal conflict and lets ing and shoving each other. I escorted from using “Redskins” as a team name
you judge the outcome. Ted away from the crowd and tried to or mascot, as many people find the
talk him down.” term offensive.
ANSWER ON THE LAST PAGE
“Go on,” Heather prodded. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the California
Fight during fire drill: Racial Mascots Act, which bans the use
Teacher injured “I thought Ted had calmed down,” An- of the word “Redskins” as of Jan. 1,
thony said. “But when I turned to an- 2017.
SRO Anthony Wilson walked into Prin- other student, Ted doubled back and
cipal Heather Marks’ office. “I got your jumped into the melee. Schools that currently use the name will
voicemail,” Anthony said. “What’s up?” be allowed to phase out the use in order
“That’s when Amy got hit,” he contin- to alleviate the burden of associated
“I wanted to talk to you about the fight ued. “Ted really clocked her, and she costs, such as new team uniforms.
last week,” Heather said. “As you know, fell to the ground.”
one of our language arts teachers –
Amy Hill – got hit in the crossfire. Now “I hate that Amy got hurt at all,” Heather
she’s filed a personal injury lawsuit. said. “But it looks really bad that it hap-
Let’s go over the details again.” pened during a drill that was supposed
to improve safety.”
Was school liable?
Amy sued, and the school asked the
“We were in the middle of our monthly court to toss the claim.
fire drill,” Anthony recalled. “Bunch of
kids started jawing about some basket- Was the case dismissed?
ball game they’d played in gym class,
according to teachers who were there.”

“You weren’t there when it started?”
Heather asked.

Teen sues NYC after arrest handcuffs and let him go at The shooting happened at Theodore
over metal detector, glasses Bloomberg’s urging, according to a Roosevelt Middle School in Kenner.
criminal complaint. One victim was hit in the leg and the
December 1, 2015 other was hit in the stomach, said Lt.
New York Post Later that day, Phillpotts was again Brian McGregor, a Kenner Police De-
summoned to Bloomberg’s office for a partment spokesman. Neither of the in-
A teen arrested over a scuffle with meeting with Board of Education secu- juries were serious.
school safety agents after he refused to rity boss Mark Rampersant and assis-
take off his glasses to go through a Park tant NYPD Assistant Commissioner The suspect was taken to the Jefferson
Slope high school’s metal detector is Ramon Garcia, who both apologized for Parish Juvenile Assessment Center and
suing the city in Brooklyn federal court. the incident. booked with possession of a weapon on
school grounds and two counts of bat-
Noah Phillpotts, who was a student at The incident sparked a protest at the tery.
Park Slope Collegiate HS — one of the school where students objected to the Kenner police said the teen brought the
smaller schools that now occupy the arrest. De Blasio’s son, Dante De Bla- Airsoft gun to school in his book bag.
former John Jay HS building on Sev- sio, then a student at nearby Brooklyn The suspect will have a hearing today
enth Avenue — claims safety officers Tech, showed up in support. to determine if he should remain in cus-
slammed him to the ground in March tody, McGregor said.
after he refused to hand over a pair of In addition to their objections to the ar-
eyeglasses that contained a metal pin. rest, some parents and students de-
manded the removal of the school’s
The confrontation took place at the metal detectors. arguing that it created
school’s security checkpoint where stu- a distrustful environment not conducive
dents pass through a metal detector, to learning.
papers state.
The raps against Phillpotts were
“The pin did not pose a safety hazard dropped in June and he is now suing
and it was being used, with the knowl- the city, safety agent Maria Brava and a
edge and approval of school adminis- slew of unnamed cops for unspecified
trators, merely to hold the eyeglasses damages.
together temporarily,” according to the
suit. Court papers state that he is now a res-
ident of Massachusetts.
After he was handcuffed, school safety
agents eventually opted not to pursue 14-year-old arrested for
the incident and let Phillpotts return to shooting students with pellet
class.
gun in Kenner
But as he described the confrontation to
Principal Jill Bloomberg in her office December 1, 2015
later that day, several NYPD cops en- 4WWLTV.Com
tered and began “slamming his head
into a desk and pulling his arms behind KENNER, La. – A 14-year-old boy was
his back,” court papers state. arrested Monday after he shot two girls
with a pellet gun at school, police said.
Phillpotts was taken to another room
and slapped with a disorderly conduct
rap before the officers removed the

Sharpen Your Judgment ADMINISTRATION
LBPS
THE DECISION
Michael Salvatore, Ph.D.
Yes, the court dismissed the law- At the National Safety Conference in Superintendent
suit. Los Angeles, Lt. John M. Weinstein
recommended staff training on non- Alvin L. Freeman
Although schools owe a duty to pro- verbal danger cues: vocal extremes Assistant Superintendent
tect minor students, it generally (loud or soft), heavy breathing,
doesn’t “extend to teachers, admin- hands balled into fists, protruding JanetLynn Dudick
istrators or other adults on or off veins and staring off into the dis- District Administrator Personnel
school premises,” the court ex- tance (“thousand-mile stare”).
plained. However, there are excep- Peter E. Genovese III
tions. A special relationship creates Cite: Brumer v. City of New York. School Business Administrator
a duty to protect an adult if the Dramatized for effect.
school: Board Secretary

• Violates a statutory duty enacted Nancy L. Valenti
for the benefit of a particular class Asst. School Business Admin.
of persons
• Voluntarily assumes a duty that Assistant Board Secretary
generates justifiable reliance by the
person who benefits from the duty, LBPS
or BOARD OF EDUCATION
• Assumes positive direction and
control in the face of a known, bla- James N. Parnell
tant and direct safety violation. President

But the teacher failed to provide ev- HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL Mary L. George
idence showing any of the three ex- SEE YOU IN Vice President
ceptions applied in her case. She
failed to state a valid claim, so the Lucille M. Perez
case was dismissed.
Avery W. Grant
Staff training: Non-verbal danger
cues Michele Critelli, Ed.D.

Of course, you never want anyone – Bill Dangler
staff or students – to get hurt at
school. But as this case shows, it Armand R. Zambrano, Jr.
doesn’t mean you can be held liable
for every injury. Donald C. Covin

Rose M. Widdis