|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Menlo-Atherton High School community is expressing shock and calling for accountability after Atherton Police Department officers were filmed pinning down and arresting a student at a bus stop across from the Atherton campus on Friday afternoon, April 28. Atherton police told The Almanac the encounter is under administrative review.
Videos, including one shared by the Instagram account @thahoodnews has gotten thousands of views and show two students being handcuffed, and one being held down by officers, at Middlefield Road and Oak Grove Avenue around 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Commenters question the actions of police and express outrage over their handling of the encounter.
Student newspaper the M-A Chronicle interviewed witnesses, including the sibling of the student who was pinned to the ground. The sibling told the Chronicle that their brother was injured during the incident.
“They tried to put (him) in cuffs, but he felt like he wasn’t in the wrong and told the police not to touch him,” junior Mahki Tippins, who witnessed the incident, told the M-A Chronicle. “Then, next thing you know, they have him on the ground, and more and more police officers start showing up. … I started recording for our safety. Then, (the second student) was detained because he didn’t move when he was told.”
In one video, you can hear the student who is pinned to the ground yelling: “Get off me! Get off me! My hernia, my stomach.” A student can be heard in the background saying: “Hold on. He had surgery.”
Atherton Police Cmdr. Dan Larsen said police are conducting an administrative review of the incident. He said police were dispatched to the high school after a student was reported to have pushed a school administrator against a wall and yelled homophobic slurs at him.
Atherton police said in a Wednesday, May 3, news bulletin that school officials took a water gun away from the student earlier in the week and he was in the school office asking for the water gun to be returned.
“The student then physically assaulted a school administrator by pushing them into a cubicle wall, tried to push the administrator’s glasses off their face, spit on them, and called them derogatory homophobic slurs,” according to police. Police received several 911 calls about the incident in the office, the news bulletin said.
Prior to officers’ arrival, the student left the campus and went to a bus stop in the 500 block of Middlefield Road, police said.
“Rather than cooperate, the subject walked away from police and resisted,” Larsen said in an email. “The officers on scene grabbed the subject’s shirt to prevent his escape and the subject continued to pull away and fell to the ground. Once on the ground, the officers placed him into handcuffs. Charges are being filed against the subject for battery on a school official and a hate crime. What was captured on video is the tail end of the incident.”
In an email sent to students on Sunday, April 30, M-A Principal Karl Losekoot said: “What I can share is that our site administrators did call for police department support due to an interaction with a student that escalated to the level that our site team felt concerned for their safety, as there was physical contact made against one of our site leaders along with several verbal threats made towards that staff member.”
Losekoot said that the rumor that site administrators contacted police because a student was in possession of a water gun is false.
“On Friday, countless water guns were confiscated from students, and not one of those school site interactions resulted in a call for police assistance from our site administrators,” Losekoot said. “As educators, trained in the vocation of supporting students, the idea of calling for police department support is something that we absolutely do not take lightly. It is always the final option when all attempts to de-escalate a situation are not producing the desired result, and there is a clear threat to the safety of our students and/or staff.”
The M-A Chronicle reported that a group of students planned a protest during lunch on Monday, May 1. Menlo-Atherton’s Black Student Union announced a demonstration on campus is set for at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 3. “Join the Black Student Union in peacefully protesting police brutality and use of excessive force,” said a post on the group’s Instagram account.
The video can be viewed on YouTube at tinyurl.com/ma-arrest. The M-A Chronicle credits Mahki Tippins, Linda Gabele, Louise Gabele, one anonymous student, and the sibling of the student pinned down for the videos.
Credit: M-A Chronicle via Mahki Tippins, Linda Gabele, Louise Gabele, one anonymous student and the sibling of the student pinned down.
A Change.org petition by the Menlo-Atherton Black Student Union has been created called “End Police Brutality in Sequoia Union High School District.” As of the afternoon of May 3 it had garnered over 400 signatures.
Did they nab the correct suspect?
If not, I would agree the kid has a right to be upset. (Independent of whether the law protects the officers here, which I’m sure it does…I’m talking about in a sense of fairness).
If yes, no problem here. If this kid roughed up a school employee, and refused an arrest process, force was warranted.
^I would have to agree. It does sometimes seem like people think they can simply decide they don’t want to be arrested, therefore any attempt to do so is by default “brutality”. Of course the student’s behavior towards the staffer and what led up to this isn’t on video, so it likely will disappear from the conversation.
And yet our legislature, in its infinite wisdom, wants to pass a law making it more difficult to expel cretins like this. As to his handling by the police, all he had to do was cooperate and let the officers do their jobs and he wouldn’t have ended up on the ground. Just like the person with him wasn’t.
School staff and authorities have a hard time when students become disruptive. One common fact… when told you’re “ under arrest”, a law enforcement MUST TAKE YOU INTO CUSTODY. Resisting arrest is not a time to argue with the officer, that’s where your time in a judicial proceeding happens. Go peacefully, and have your day in court. Be smart and don’t get hurt.
The student didn’t “fall to the ground.” He was pushed by the police officer. It doesn’t help anyone believe the police administration when they aren’t scrupulous in describing how things went down.
Neighbor:
If you have ever been in a fight. You would understand when the individual walked away from the officer: the resisting arrest became live, and the officer took control. Unfortunately, if the individual went peacefully, the officer actions would not have reacted that way. Sad: that school authorities could not handle the situation on their own.
Neighbor: My opinion after reviewing both edited, partial view videos several times is that the police were very accurate in their description. It appears that the student tried to back away and actively resist arrest. The officer grabbed his white T-shirt and his left arm (to cuff him) as he backed away and he stumbled backwards. This also creates occupational injury risk for the officer (who was ordered to arrest him). It is much easier to cuff an uncooperative suspect when they can be briefly pinned on the ground, and the less they resist, the less they get harmed. I see no evidence that the officer was intentionally pushing him down. He was trying to cuff him. If you believe the video was unedited, then the subject was only on the ground for 26 seconds, however I believe this was edited. Bodycam footage is needed to corroborate.
The moderators have blocked my original comments to this article and will probably block this as well.
Neighbor:
What Rob said. All the student had to do was comply and he wouldn’t have ended up in handcuffs. Remember, his friend complied and wasn’t taken to the ground. He didn’t resist arrest.
I don’t agree with him when it comes to the staff handling it. When it escalates to violence, as it appears to have, it becomes a criminal matter and the police are the proper people to be handling it, not the staff.
This is the kind of second guessing garbage of the police on the part of the public that makes no one want to do the job anymore. This is the kind of thing that is causing departments to have a very hard time attracting and keeping officers. The pay and benefits are darn good, especially the pension. But no one wants to risk there life and career when the public is going to second guess everything they do and their administration will roll over and not defend them when they are right in their actions. Think about that the next time you want to second guess an action an officer had to make in a split second.
“Atherton PD was dispatched to M-A following a call for service when a subject was reported to have pushed a school administrator against a wall and yell homophobic slurs at him. Rather than cooperate, the subject walked away from police and resisted. The officers on scene grabbed the subject’s shirt to prevent his escape and the subject continued to pull away and fell to the ground. Once on the ground, the officers placed him into handcuffs. Charges are being filed against the subject for battery on a school official and a hate crime. What was captured on video is the tail end of the incident.”
https://www.machronicle.com/breaking-news-police-update-after-friday-incident/
FYI, there is a video of the kid in the office before this incident. He called a gay administrator the f-slur and threatened to kill him and his family. He then punched him in the face. IMO this behavior is absolutely unacceptable and we should babe zero tolerance for it
How did the student who shoved the staff member get away from school? Did he simply walk away after being violent with the staff member?
“How did the student who shoved the staff member get away from school? Did he simply walk away after being violent with the staff member?”
Sounds like it.
I understand juveniles don’t have the same reasoning ability as adults, but it couldn’t have been a complete surprise for this juvenile to be stopped by police not long after he took off from school following his dust up with the staffer.
I’m no fan of Atherton PD and I question the wisdom of this confrontation happening so close to traffic. But I don’t know what the reasonable alternatives would be once the police are called. Did the police need to immediately contact the child and take him into custody? Would it be better to contact the kid’s parents first, then take him into custody if necessary? Menlo Voter, what do you say?
I definitely would not condone the alleged actions of the student toward the school administrator. But regardless of what happened in that incident, it looks like the student walked away and de-escalated the situation, and he appears to be waiting for the bus (to go home?). There was no immediate danger or conflict. The police came and the situation escalated. This could have been approached in a much more sensitive way, especially when it comes to a minor. Police should be able to do their job, but de-escalation needs to be core to any police activity, for the safety of themselves and the community.
Again, two things stand out to me as justifying the police behavior here: (1) the student was accused of an act of violence against a school teacher, and (2) the actual police use of force was restricted to what was necessary to restrain him.
The “classic” example of this concept going wrong occurred a few years ago in NYC, where the police stopped a street vendor selling cigarettes illegally – but with no actual “violent” behavior whatsoever. He didn’t comply with instructions, and a choke hold was applied that killed him. The union had the same refrain (“had he only complied…”) but I looked at that as an end result that made no sense, even though each technical “decision analysis” of police actions that made up the encounter was deemed legally supportable at each step of the way.
Again, it sounds like this person (and this is an ASSUMPTION, the Almanac should check this) got violent with a school teacher, and refused to cooperate with the police response. What choice did they really have? To let him go?
Looking at the video, the officer brought him to the ground, applied handcuffs, and then he was lifted to his feet. He wasn’t struck. A taser wasn’t used. The video was not a “Rodney King” type of situation at all.
For those who argue this was inappropriate, what was the actual choice the police had other than letting him walk away?
I suppose the officer could have tried another round or two of verbal persuasion, but where can this line be drawn?
LF:
sorry, but this kid didn’t “deescalate”, he was attempting to escape. From what I saw the police used the minimal amount of force necessary to take an uncooperative suspect into custody, and he was a suspect. The police had probable cause to take a suspect that had committed violence against someone else into custody. They were doing exactly what they were hired to do. End of story.
Hmmm:
The police handled it very well with minimal use of force. They had no other choice. If they had let the suspect just walk off I’m sure there would be a bunch of people on here complaining about that.
I find the comments here shocking and disturbing. The police escalated a situation which could have been handled peacefully. That most commenters believe the actions of the police were okay is baffling me.
Why arrest them in the first place? The incident is over, the police know who they are, where they live and where they go to school. If the teacher wants to press charges that’s his right. But why an arrest??
I grew up in Europe where you have the right to resist an unwarranted arrest and it is not an offense to peacefully resist. Arrests are only warranted if there is an urgent suspicion of a serious crime, or with an arrest warrant, with court approval, etc. etc.
Nabbing kids on the way home is ridiculous. How traumatizing is that for all the kids seeing three armed officers showing up using force against their fellow students. My kids just graduated from M-A. I never thought this could happen in our community.
Police brutality and overreach is so common here that we are all brainwashed to think this is normal and acceptable and praise the police for using restraint aka not shooting them. The cases where people got hurt or killed by police just for resisting arrest for traffic stops/minor offenses or being Black while (insert normal activities) is incomprehensible.
We are so numb to the violence in this country be it mass shootings or police brutality that we think that this is normal. It is not!!
+1 EU living in USA
Menlo Voter: I think “escape” is a loaded word. By the very nature of him being a student at the school, the police “know where he lives”. They could have planned a time to address the situation with a minor in a less public and confrontational manner, ideally after communicating with the kids parents/guardians. There was no immediate danger that necessitated such an immediate confrontation.
EU, the administrator was assaulted, homophobic slurs yelled at him, and, most important to what happened next, I think, he was threatened. He may have needed to act immediately if he was scared the student would act on those threats immediately.
He isn’t responsible for how the police handled the situation. He may be required to act on threats against staff, including himself, and students.
Again, he’s not responsible for how the police responded. It isn’t his fault that some other kid was mad their buddy was detained by the cops for threats and assault and had a tantrum that resulted in his arrest.
It’s important to remember we don’t know all the facts.
Menlo Voter, thanks for your professional input. I know you and I both have our criticisms of Atherton PD.
LF, we don’t know what threats were issued. But maybe the administrator couldn’t wait. Waiting might give the student time to act on those threats. Hate slurs plus threats is a bad combo.
Just imagine if this student had been allowed to go someplace and get a weapon and then return to the campus. There would have been outrage at the failure of the police to stop such a potential threat by someone who had already engaged in physical violence against a school administration.
I think I counted six police officers, perhaps there were more.
Was this show of force necessary for an unarmed and non-threatening teenage student? The student was on his way home, he had made a prudent decision to leave the campus.
If the administrator wanted to press charges, the student could have been interviewed in private, at home, or at school.
Six police officers?
“Was this show of force necessary for an unarmed and non-threatening teenage student? The student was on his way home, he had made a prudent decision to leave the campus.”
Are you absolutely certain that the student did not pose a significant threat?
Would you rather that the police had waited until he returned to the school with a weapon?
“Would you rather that the police had waited until he returned to the school with a weapon?”
Ah, I get it … one of those “Are your neighbors aware you are beating your wife” questions. You know, the kind of question that cannot be answered because it serves to validate the question. Nice try.
You have no idea what happened, your opinions are pure conjecture. For all you know, this kid could be a honor student, or a captain of a team.
What’s clear from the video is the student was standing at the bus stop, peacefully. When the police showed up, in force, he attempted to walk away. This is not unexpected behavior from a teenage boy who felt he was wronged, and outnumbered. Not the best judgment, but he is a teenager. Let’s remember that fact.
If indeed the teenage student lost his temper with an administrator, it’s not the first time a teen has lost his temper. Those readers who have raised teenagers are well aware that kids can and will lose their temper, and say and do stupid things. It has to do with their developing brain. The key is to de-escalate *both* of the parties involved in the altercation, and to discuss the event, later, with a neutral third party so as to allow both the administrator and the student to see where each of them may have gone wrong.
The absolute wrong way to handle this is to send a platoon of police officers to handcuff the student in front of his peers.
If the student was aggressive, I would like to know the full context, and I would like to know if perhaps he was badgered.
Parent – are you prepared to bet your child’s life on your judgement that this student did not present a threat to others given his violent attack on a staff member?
How many warning signs should we ignore before we take action?
Parent sounds pretty uninformed. Apparently the staff member was assaulted, spit on, received hate slurs and threatened. Then student takes off, and it wasn’t prudent, it was an escape.
“Apparently the staff member was assaulted” …
Apparently? You really don’t know, do you.
“Then student takes off…”
The student walked the approximate 200 yards from the school administration office to the corner of Oak Grove and Middlefield. The student then stood there, in plain view, and waited for the bus with dozens of other students.
This is “takes off”?
You know very little about the law and how it works.
If I am in downtown Menlo Park and someone approached me and said “F- you”, while pointing a finger at me, and some saliva came out of that persons’s mouth as he spoke those words, I can press charges for assault, and claim the person spit on me. How so? I felt threatened, the person who approached had the capacity to harm me, and saliva landed on me.
If I attempted to go around the person and we touched arms, there’s a claim of battery. And if he called me a name referring to my ethnicity or perceived sexual orientation, we’ve got a hate crime. So I get to call 911, and I get to press charges for: assault, battery, hate crime, and let’s not forget the “spit”.
But I would not call 911, and I would not press charges. If it’s a stranger, I’d simply get away from the person. If it’s a teenage student and I’m an administrator, I’d schedule a meeting with his parents to discuss the incident, and ask myself what role I played in agitating the student.
The teenager made an immature decision. The adult needs to make an adult decision. In this case, the adult decision is to talk to student, ideally with his parents, and try to get this kid on the right track.
I’d start with: “I know you were upset, and my actions got you even more upset. In hindsight, I did not act properly.”
If you’ve ever been a parent, you will know this is a great way to start a conversation with a teenager. Teenagers do not have the luxury of a fully formed mind, that will not come until the mid 20’s.
Sadly a number of teenagers have picked up assault weapons and murdered other students and staff following confrontations with school authorities.
Is Parent prepared to guarantee that this student presented NO danger to others?
The phrase killing with kindness comes to mind.
The student resisted arrest – that is sufficient to justify the actions taken. Allowing the student to depart and potentially obtain a deadly weapon and return to the school would have been irresponsible.
Feel free to comfort and protect this fragile teenage but do so AFTER he has been removed as a potential threat to others.
The police MUST exercise on the side of caution not comfort.
Come on:
An assault and battery happened.
A staff member of MA High School a victim. They reported it to the Atherton PD.
A police report made and forwarded to DA’s Office for review for prosecution.
Offender; found, arrested, and identified.
Let’s see what the DA’s Office will do.
“An assault and battery happened.”
Why? Have you considered the thought that perhaps the adult got in the kid’s face?
The adult is holding all the cards in such a situation, he can make it better, or he can make it worse.
De-escalate.
To those that think APD overreacted. Keep in mind they received a report of an assault and a hate crime along with the possible identity of the perpetrator. Keep in mind what has been happening EVERYWHERE in this country with mass shootings in schools. If you were the police and received a report of a violent assault on a school administrator or teacher, would you just mosey on over to the suspect’s house where he could potentially arm himself? Would you just write a report and send it in and let the DA handle it? Would you assume that the suspect was unarmed? We live in different times where school shootings have become common, the police have to respond to calls with that potential threat in mind. Until that suspect has submitted to a pat down, the officers MUST assume he could be armed. There have been students caught on campus with guns in the past.
If the police had not arrested this suspect and he had gone home, retrieved a gun, came back and shot someone, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU complaining about how the police handled this would be screaming for the officers’ heads. And you know it. None of you has done the job. I have. The officers acted professionally, reasonably and with the minimal amount of force necessary to take the suspect in a violent crime into custody.
Parent:
unless the adult physically assaulted the student, there is zero reason for him to assault the teacher. ZERO. Stop making excuses for this kid. He screwed up, there are consequences when we screw up and now he gets to face some. Perhaps he hasn’t had to face any up until now and that is why he thought it ok to assault someone.
There seem to be two groups of people here. One group believes that since the student was accused of an assault/battery, it means he did it. Another group, which Parent belongs to, seems to believe he didn’t do it (presumably because some adults would make false or exaggerated accusations, which is true).
I’m in the camp of I have no idea. I wasn’t there.
However, given the accusation, and the lack of evidence that shows it was a false accusation, the police had a right (and I would say obligation) to detain and question the student under the law.
The video shows this.
It’s not improper.
” One group believes that since the student was accused of an assault/battery, it means he did it. ”
Wrong. Many of us believe that since the student was accused of an assault/battery that student needed to be treated as a serious potential threat – without assuming anything about his possible guilt.
(presumably because some adults would make false or exaggerated accusations, which is true).
Or perhaps because the administrator failed to de-escalate the situation. The ability to resolve a conflict, on the spot, is a unique one. Some are better at it that others, some make a career out of it.
The issue at hand involved a squirt gun. Apparently the seniors at M-A were participating in a game in which they squirt water at each other (according to the school’s digital magazine). The school had confiscated several of these toys. When one of the students went to the office to retrieve his property, a toy, the disagreement involving when he would get it back spun out of control.
Children or minors will make emotional decisions. It’s up to the adult to respond professionally to those emotions.
“Many of us believe that since the student was accused of an assault/battery that student needed to be treated as a serious potential threat ”
Ah … so if I simply accuse you of something, you must be treated as a “potential serious threat”. The mere accusation is all it takes.
Is it true that in the town of Salem (Massachusetts) women used to be accused of being a witch and were subsequently treated as a serious threat?
“Children or minors will make emotional decisions. It’s up to the adult to respond professionally to those emotions.”
And in today’s easy access to real guns environment a professional adult response it to treat a violent physical attack as a significant warning sign and the failure to comply with a police officer’s detention order was a second warning sign.
To treat this student as a fragile emotional person who needed to be coddled and allowed to roam free would place others at potentially serious risk.
A non-senior student brought his water gun to school for an event he wasn’t part of. It was confiscated and he had a violent tantrum when he couldn’t get it back when he wanted it.
I hope the administrator is getting the support he needs. There are lots of nasty comments online about him.
“so if I simply accuse you of something, you must be treated as a “potential serious threat”.
A violent physical attack was a significant warning sign and the student’s failure to comply with a police officer’s detention order was a second warning sign.
Given these circumstances – anger, assaulting an administrator and not obeying a police detention order certainly justify treating this student as a “potential serious threat”.
One of the purposes of education is to help students learn that actions have consequences – let’s hope this student is beginning to understand that basic fact.
I agree with everything Parent has said. Clearly, many of you have no idea what it’s like to be a POC around here.
Does anyone think that a student from Atherton would have gotten similar treatment? Not a chance. The student’s parents would have been called; six police officers would not have thrown the student to the ground. (And before you tell me that Atherton kids are all law-abiding…cute. You’re totally out of touch with reality.)
” six police officers would not have thrown the student to the ground. ”
Watch the video – six police officers did not throw the student to the ground.
The first student feel to the ground when he ignored a detention order and was attempting to escape from the grasp of one police officer. That police officer then followed standard procedure to retrain an uncooperative individual. A second police officer remained standing to assist. None of the other officers were involved in the restraint of this individual.
A second individual complied with a detention order, was easily restrained while standing and then immediately released when it was evidently determined that he was not involved in the reported incident.
Two subject – they were treated differently because they behaved differently, not because they were POC.
“Two subject – they were treated differently because they behaved differently, not because they were POC.”
Exactly.
Parent: exactly how would YOU deescalate a physical attack by a student? A 16 or 17 year old, almost a full grown man, student? And when your “deescalation” didn’t work, what then?
The fact a student physically assaulted a faculty member is amazing to me. It just shows what our society has allowed to happen when it comes to discipline in schools. When I was in high school I wouldn’t never have even contemplated attacking a faculty member, nor would anyone I knew. I don’t recall ever even hearing about it happening. Ever. And it’s folks like Parent that have helped this decline in discipline along by making excuses for students’ poor behavior and trying to put it off on the faculty as it they’re somehow to blame for the poor behavior. Give me a break.
This situation was 100% within the control of the kid arrested. If they had cooperated with the lawful police orders, the police would not have needed to use force. Officers, who make arrests every day over a 20 year career, can’t be expected to themselves at risk when dealing with perpetrators. Officer safety comes first. Perpetrators have a choice: go peacefully, and have their day in court where they can contest charges, or resist and be subject to the use of force. Be smart and don’t get hurt.
Criticism of the police conduct here is unfounded and contributes to the epidemic of lawless behavior. We are accountable to our words and deeds. Don’t untruthfully diss the police for doing what is a difficult job.
I agree, all the student had to do was COMPLY, physical aggression against another is going to bring it upon one’s self. Where’s the difference?
“Parent: exactly how would YOU deescalate a physical attack by a student? A 16 or 17 year old, almost a full grown man, student? And when your “deescalation” didn’t work, what then?”
It’s not that difficult. Step 1 is to treat the student with respect. Do not let the situation escalate. Police officers are well trained in this art, apparently school administrators are not.
Step 2: the student becomes anxious, frustrated, perhaps raises his voice. This is common for a teen, ask any parent who has raised a teen boy. A well trained person can diffuse this by acting calmly and listening to the student. Allow the student to voice his concerns, find out the crux of the issue – calmly – and suggest a resolution.
Many of the people posting here are characterizing this student as some sort of dangerous criminal. He is not. He may have lost his temper, who among us has not.
A sure-fire way of agitating a teenage boy is to get in his face and challenge him. Our society has never been more polarized, diplomacy is in short supply. Sending six cops (three motorcycle cops … really? Did they get tired of handing out speeding tickets on Atherton Avenue?) is not the answer.
I don’t see any report of the administrator suffering an injury, other than to his ego.
Six cops? And the last cop blocking one of the students from filming? Really professional. These kids have every right to video the event.
I noticed a few more things after watching the video again. There are two kids that the police are interacting with. The first is standing near the fence, the policeman puts handcuffs on him with no incident. The second is walking around and ends up on the ground, and then is brought to the police car. I assume the second kid is the one accused of the assault. So why put handcuffs on the first kid? And if you watch to the end, you can see the police officer cursing and threatening to put other kids in handcuffs if they don’t stop filming.
What we have here, is a lack of R-E-S-P-E-C-T! The high school youth who pushed the teacher and verbally assaulted him with slurs has not been taught (by his parents) the meaning of “respect”. Schools have a simple code of ethics that students and teachers must follow, or there would be total chaos. Respect is the foundation of school ethics. This incident began with a breakdown in respect by the student’s unacceptable behavior towards a teacher. Now, back in the 1960s at M-A, this would have been dealt with by Vice Principal, Jim Coffis (former Stanford football great). He was feared, yet loved by the entire student body for his entire tenure. In the 70s, it was Coach Ben Parks, who would “kick some a##” and instill some immediate respect into wayward students. Sure, back then, Cops still were on campus occasionally and sometimes made arrests when warranted, but there was never a question by the community that things were mishandled.
Atherton Police are hardly the brutal forces we see accused and on trial across the country, but any youth making death threats (as reported in this case) must be taken very seriously and acted on immediately…even in Atherton and Menlo Park.
Parent is still trying too hard to paint the picture they want of what happened, while lacking facts. None of us know if the employee was injured, but it’s noted that you keep trying to spin your narrative to blame the administrator and exonerate the student. None of us have all the facts.
“Many of the people posting here are characterizing this student as some sort of dangerous criminal.”
WRONG. Not a single poster has alleged that the student was a “dangerous criminal” – that would be for the court to decide. Why is Parent attempting to twist the facts?
There is clear evidence in the reported facts that the student was a “potential serious threat”.
The authorities acted exactly as they should have to ensure that the situation did not rise to the level of greater violence.
Children who are protected from the consequences of their actions will eventually make even bigger mistakes with even more severe consequences.
Sadly M-A doesn’t have another Coach Parks who is empowered to provide in your face guidance.
“Sending six cops is not the answer.”
Whenever there is a 911 call from a school, particularly a large school, there is always a large response out of an abundance of caution. For example, The Fire District will always dispatch a MINIMUM of three apparatus (at least nine firefighters)to a 911 call from a school.
In this case two officers dealt with the student who refused the detention order, two dealt with a second student who properly complied with a detention order and two officers engaged in crowd control. The officers were not stopping anybody from filming the event but quietly asking people to move back form the scene – a wise decision.
“WRONG. Not a single poster has alleged that the student was a “dangerous criminal” ”
your own words, Peter: “needed to be treated as a serious potential threat”
“The officers were not stopping anybody from filming the event”
You have not seen the videos posted to social media. An Atherton cop, and the end of the video, moves and stands directly in front of the camera, so much so that the entire screen is a close up of his upper body uniform. He clearly was trying to block the camera.
“”WRONG. Not a single poster has alleged that the student was a “dangerous criminal” ”
your own words, Peter: “needed to be treated as a serious potential threat”
Exactly!!
Please retract your claim “”Many of the people posting here are characterizing this student as some sort of dangerous criminal.”
“An Atherton cop, and the end of the video, moves and stands directly in front of the camera, so much so that the entire screen is a close up of his upper body uniform.”
I suggest that he was properly responding to a request for his name and badge number which were exactly what is shown in these frames.
“None of us know if the employee was injured”
None of the reporting indicates any injury sustained, other than an ego bruise. Certainly if he was physically injured it would have made it into the story, and/or the police press release.
The administrator can undo this entire event tomorrow by calling the district attorney and declining to press charges. Happens all the time.
“You have not seen the videos posted to social media.”
I have seen that video – how can you claim that I have not?
What is the source of your knowledge of what I have or have not seen?
Why do you keep trying to twist the facts with another shiny object?
“I suggest that he was properly responding to a request for his name and badge number which were exactly what is shown in these frames.”
There are three videos of this encounter circulating, I suggest you watch all three. The cop gets so close to the camera his upper body consumes the entire screen, his name and bade are not visible.
“The administrator can undo this entire event tomorrow by calling the district attorney and declining to press charges.”
Wrong – he cannot change the fact that the student resisted arrest nor can the administrator negate that charge.
And with respect to any potential assault charges it would be a dereliction of duty for an educational professional to excuse such actions. Just imagine what would happen the next time a student decide to assault an M-A teacher or administrator.
“There are three videos of this encounter circulating, I suggest you watch all three.”
Please post the links to those videos.
“Please post the links to those videos.”
Please learn how to use the various forms of social media … it may help you understand young people, it is their medium.
I guess that Parent does not know how to post links.
Here is the Instagram video:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CroUTR7MZ1V/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
No attempt was made to block this very explicit filming.
The Instagram video also makes it very clear that the student was resisting arrest.
It also shows another person filming the event without any interference by the police.
Parent:
You keep trying to spin this to be the administrator’s fault with zero facts. Could it have happened the way you say, yes, but it just as easily happen as has been described. How do know the administrator didn’t try to deescalate the situation? Were you there? Sometimes de-escalation doesn’t work. I worked in law enforcement for 10 years and I can tell you from experience not every situation can be de-escalated. The fact is the student is nearly an adult and had he been 18 the consequences would be more severe. The fact is he is not a child, he is a teenager. I raised a teenage son. Yes, they can get mad and lose their temper, but my son NEVER attacked anyone, let alone a school administrator. Also, a little more than the administrator’s ego was bruised, he was spit on. Have you ever been spit on? I have. There is not much that is more disrespectful and disgusting.
To be clear, since you think everyone is accusing us of characterizing the student as a criminal, I NEVER said that. The police responded to a report of a violent assault and they couldn’t just let it go, nor could they treat the suspect as anything less than a potential threat.
I can tell from your postings you are someone that has a dislike for the police and you think everything they do is wrong. You’re also the type of person that had the police just let this suspect run off and he had returned with a gun and shot someone you’d be screaming for the officers’ heads. People like you are one of the reasons I left law enforcement. You’ve never done the job, but you have plenty to criticize them for based on zero experience.
Menlo Voter:
You have no idea who I am, yet you have somehow profiled me.
I’m the “type of person”, etc. “People like you”, “you’ve never done the job”, “you have plenty to criticize”.
Ad hominem much?
I’m sorry to hear you left law enforcement …
Parent:
Pot, this is kettle, you’re black.
Committing criminal acts doesn’t make the student a dangerous criminal. I certainly don’t think of him or the other detained boy that way. Commenters here aren’t calling him that. The combination of reported behaviors he exhibited – physical aggression, hate speech and death threats – indicate he has issues that urgently need addressing. This is irrespective of how the administrator handled the situation.
@ Parent
Being shoved against the wall and spat upon (plus being the victim of an anti-gay slur) are just
“an ego bruise”? Really sad!
A few statements from Menlo Atherton teachers, students, and supporters via the RWCPulse online publication. Everything below is attributed to RWCPulse.
Teacher Anne Olson said … In situations like what happened on Friday where power was taken away from a human being, it’s really important to reclaim that power.”
Teacher Chloe Gentile-Montgomery said … “What happened on Friday could have been avoided had more people on campus been trained in de-escalation practices, had more people on campus had stronger relationships with students, had more students on campus felt safe going into the office and didn’t feel like they needed to enter on the defense.”
J.T. Faraji, an organizer from the protest group Tha Hood Squad… In his speech, Faraji said, “The family of the student wants to make sure that you know that the statement that the police came out with today is categorically false.”
Eboni Freeman, a freshman and social media manager for M-A’s Black Student Union (BSU) said, “Yes, it was a harmful situation, and that is what admin said, but you haven’t mentioned how it was traumatic, you haven’t mentioned how there was a little boy being pinned to the ground, begging for someone to come help him, and no one did. They didn’t even acknowledge that there was M-A staff watching the whole time, not a thing was done, no one helped him. It felt like he was alone, and I felt like I was alone — because what if that was me?”
Lol at the Hood Squad. Please. What a try hard.
What Eboni Freeman (a freshman) said is particularly sad. Eboni’s statement can be found on RWCPulse.
“you haven’t mentioned how it was traumatic, you haven’t mentioned how there was a little boy being pinned to the ground, begging for someone to come help him, and no one did. They didn’t even acknowledge that there was M-A staff watching the whole time, not a thing was done, no one helped him.”
I find it appalling that no employee from Menlo Atherton High School stepped forward to help this student. He was outnumbered, by at least 6 to 1, by grown men with guns on their hip. Not a single employee who was present at the scene came to his defense before, during, or after the event. The student is apparently 16 years old, and recently underwent abdominal surgery.
The student was *waiting at the bus stop*.
People should be ashamed.
“People should be ashamed.”
Yes indeed. The people who should be ashamed are the parents of this student who evidently failed to teach him to treat his teachers and school administrators with respect and who did not teach him how to obey lawful detention orders from a police officer. Had he been taught these things none of this would have happened.
“I find it appalling that no employee from Menlo Atherton High School stepped forward to help this student.”
Had they done so they themselves would have been breaking the law:
Penal Code 148(a) describes resisting arrest as any criminal conduct that resists, delays, or obstructs any peace officer in the course of their official duties. Penal Code 148 PC makes it a crime to willfully resist a police officer while performing their duties.
For those interested, there is a petition online at change.org
The petition has more than 500 signatures thus far, which serves as a counter argument to some of the voices here.
People who sign the petition can leave comments as to why they have signed the petition. Here is a sampling of those comments.
Lan Nguyen
(3 days ago)
As a teacher at M-A, I was heartbroken but not surprised that this happened. We see time and time again that adults are prioritizing racist institutions such as the police and school systems above the lives of our most marginalized students. Students have told me that they feel “failed by admin” and that they feel “unsafe at school” and that they are being “fed a narrative” due to lack of transparency. A student told me they are treated like children when adults want them to comply with our demands but at the same time we expect them to act like adults when it comes to situations like this one. I am ashamed to be associated with this institution due to these ongoing actions, but am so proud to be in community with these brave and empowered students.
Marie Klein Summers
3 days ago
As a former student and parent of this school, I have seen discrimination there with my own eyes as well as the staff and district favoring parents and attempting to sweep serious issues under the rug to save face.
“Had they done so they themselves would have been breaking the law:
False.
It’s as simple as a school employee speaking up on behalf of the student and requesting that the police allow the staff to talk with the student, in the presence of a police officer.
The claims in the petition are not supported by the video evidence:
“Menlo Atherton High School students and the Black Student Union are organizing a protest around the police brutality incident that occurred on and off campus on Friday, April 28th. Two Black students were handcuffed and harassed by police at the bus station following an altercation in the office. We do not condone violence in any way, and as advocates of restorative justice practices we do not believe there is any justification for the mistreatment students were subjected to at the bus stop. There is a video circulating of the incident where the students can be seen being attacked by police officers at the bus stop. One student was handcuffed and pinned to the ground while he called out for help and expressed pain from a recent injury. ”
There was no harassment, there was no brutality, there was no attack by the police and there was no mistreatment.
“Had they done so they themselves would have been breaking the law:
False.
It’s as simple as a school employee speaking up on behalf of the student and requesting that the police allow the staff to talk with the student, in the presence of a police officer.
Wrong.
“PENAL CODE SECTION 148(a)(1) VIOLATIONS:
Under Section 148(a)(1), an person who “willfully” resists, obstructs or delays any public officer, peace officer or emergency medical technician in the discharge of his duties is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Elements of Penal Code Section 148(a)(1) violations:
The prosecution must prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt:
The person resisted was a (peace officer / public officer / emergency medical technician) who was engaged, or who attempted to engage in the law performance of an official duty.
The defendant willfully (resisted / obstructed / delayed) the officer or EMT in the performance or attempted performance of those duties. AND
When the defendant acted, the defendant knew or reasonably should have known that the officer or EMT was an officer or EMT in the performance or attempted performance of an official duty.
A person commits an act “willfully” when he or she does it on purpose. The prosecutor does not need to prove that the defendant intended to break the law, hurt the officer, or gain any advantage.
Common Examples of Penal Code Section 148(a)(1) violations:
Example of Obstructing Officer: Police officers arrest a criminal suspect and place him inside a patrol vehicle. The defendant approaches the vehicle and attempts to speak to the arrested person. Multiple officers tell the defendant to step away from the patrol vehicle, but he refuses to do so. The officers are diverted from processing the crime scene and carrying out other official duties because of the defendant’s refusal to obey their lawful commands.”
Parent:
Have you ever been a police officer?
Menlo Voter:
Why do you ask such a question, you have already stated:
“I can tell from your postings you are someone that has a dislike for the police and you think everything they do is wrong. You’re also the type of person that had the police just let this suspect run off and he had returned with a gun and shot someone you’d be screaming for the officers’ heads. People like you are one of the reasons I left law enforcement. You’ve never done the job, but you have plenty to criticize them for based on zero experience.”
Your profile of me has nothing to do with the incident which involved Menlo Atherton High school, a student, and the Atherton Police taking the minor into custody. Please stay on topic, and stay objective.
“Your profile of me has nothing to do with the incident which involved Menlo Atherton High school, a student, and the Atherton Police taking the minor into custody. ”
It has to do with what you have posted and how you keep trying to spin it.
Your answer tells me you’ve never been in law enforcement, so my “profile” is accurate so far.
Menlo Voter, in cased you missed it:
For those interested, there is a petition online at change.org
The petition has more than 500 signatures thus far, which serves as a counter argument to some of the voices here.
Personally I am not seeing any “spin” by 500 other folks who seem to share my opinion. I encourage you to read the petition, and of course, sign it!
By the way, have you ever been an attorney?
Parent:
The people that penned the petition are spinning it. What they wrote didn’t happen the way they describe it. 500 people believed it, so they signed. Doesn’t make it what happened. No, I won’t be signing a false narrative.
No, never been an attorney. My mother was an attorney though and I have numerous friends that are attorneys. What’s your point? I’m not commenting on a situation and a job I don’t know anything about. You are.
I’ve watched the video several times and see no police brutality. Two of the six police officers handle the actual handcuffing. They don’t beat or kick the young man, don’t sit on him, don’t tamper with his airway. They concentrate on his wrists and forearms only as they apply restraints. Yes, the young man was probably mentally traumatized; being arrested would scare the wits out of me. But I don’t see any brutality. I hope the young man gets counseling for his trauma and any other issues.
I’ve been reading all these comments. Looks like at this point it’s up to the MA High School employee that was the victim; to want to prosecute him? How does a petition help or change anything? Does it ask for anything? Where is it located; I would like to read it.
PARENT:
Maybe your influence can help the victim too of the assault.
Bottom line:
Atherton Police Officers were acting lawfully and professionally. They were dispatched to the school, called by the administration. MAHS Staff acted properly.
PARENT: I was in law enforcement. I wore “ the uniform”, I’m proud to write that I see a situation that has gotten way out of control. Keep it simple. Who would you call if your house was burglarized or property were stolen or you were assaulted… “ the police”.
Do you lock your front door at night? Do you feel safe in our community. I feel safe knowing there are individuals as these officers are “ on the job”.
I’m sure there’s a peaceful solution, yet, I’m sure those demonstrators had a fun time marching together. Really? It’s sad to me to observe this situation, and so much division in our community.
PARENT: what’s the right thing to do, be objective, look at the simple facts here.
If the school wants to restore trust with the community at large, the teachers, and the marginalized students, it would be prudent to release a statement accepting blame for letting an otherwise innocuous meeting between an administrator and a student spin out of the control, to the point where the teenager was face down on Middlefield Road getting handcuffed.
The administrator needs to ask: how did we get from here, to there. And how would I handle this situation differently if it were to occur in the future.
We are talking about a 16 year old boy who has his entire life ahead of him. The school has a chance to rectify this situation. If the administrator can push his ego aside, he can state something along the lines of:
I deeply regret the incident and the part I played. I failed to de-escalate the situation and for this I am sorry. I was not hurt, and some unfortunate words were said in anger, but I harbor no resentment. I look forward to sitting down with the student and his family and apologizing for using my position of authority in such a way that it upset the student and he lost his temper. We are all human, we make mistakes, and I am not without blame.
I sincerely hope that my relationship with the student can be mended. That process begins with me, and this public apology.
***
Rob you have missed the point of the petition and the march. It was not a matter of having “fun” as you write. Your statement belittles those members of the community who feel marginalized and showed up, in the rain, to march.
Whether you “wore the uniform” is of no consequence, I know a few men who have done the same, and some of those men I do not respect. The “uniform” does not make the man, although some men choose to cite the “uniform” as a validation of their manliness.
A 16 year old student was arrested over a verbal altercation. The school can rectify this by apologizing for its role.
Parent, you seem to know a lot about what happened. I have a question: did the student get physical with the administrator?
PARENT:
Oh I get it.. looks like you don’t and never will.
@ Parent
You say “a 16-year-old student was arrested over a verbal altercation.” Yes, all the facts have to come out. But the school administration says the young man pushed the administrator against the wall, spat on him, used ugly slurs, and even (according to some reports) threatened his and his family’s life. All that goes way beyond a “a verbal altercation.” This young man needs help to handle his anger so he can have a successful adulthood. Maybe this incident is a wake-up call.
PARENT:
Oh I get it.. looks like you don’t and never will. You’re the problem…Identify yourself with your real name. Peter and I have: and always will.
” But the school administration says …”
Focus on that statement. What someone or some entity says is not always the truth.
Perhaps an example would be helpful.
September 22, 1987, Washing Post: Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., his Democratic presidential campaign battered by charges of plagiarism in his campaign speeches and in a law school paper, admitted yesterday that some of his boasts about his college academic achievements were untrue, including the claim that he had finished in the top half of his class in law school.
September 22, 1987, Washing Post: Biden’s records that he released last week indicated he attended law school on a half-time scholarship based on financial need and that he graduated 76th out of a law school class of 85. His undergraduate academic records show that he graduated from Delaware 506th in a class of 688 with a “C” average
Rob, when you write “You’re the problem” …
How does this statement involve Menlo Atherton High School, the student, or the Atherton PD?
Ad hominem. Use Google if unfamiliar with the latin phrase.
“Parent, you seem to know a lot about what happened.”
Yes, I do. And based in what I know, and this is not the forum to adjudicate, the school needs to take the higher ground and lead by example.
Sad that you won’t identify yourself.. hide: stand up for your beliefs.. are you scared of the police or the MAHS staff?
“And based in what I know, and this is not the forum to adjudicate”
You refuse to answer whether or not the student got physical with the administrator, but have called for the administrator to offer a public apology to the student.
This is a form of adjudication (call for the apology).
Yes, apologies are in order.
Let’s start with one from the student for his unacceptable behavior to the administrator and the police,
And then from the student’s parents who failed to properly teach their child about respect for others,
Then an apology from the authors of the petition who frankly lied about what occurred,
And then from Parent for continuing to mis-state the facts regarding what happened.
And then all concerned can sit down and talk about how to do a better job next time.
” How does a petition help or change anything? Does it ask for anything? Where is it located; I would like to read it.”
https://www.change.org/p/end-police-brutality-in-sequoia-union-high-school-district?source_location=search
Menlo Atherton High School students and the Black Student Union are organizing a protest around the police brutality incident that occurred on and off campus on Friday, April 28th. Two Black students were handcuffed and harassed by police at the bus station following an altercation in the office. We do not condone violence in any way, and as advocates of restorative justice practices we do not believe there is any justification for the mistreatment students were subjected to at the bus stop. There is a video circulating of the incident where the students can be seen being attacked by police officers at the bus stop. One student was handcuffed and pinned to the ground while he called out for help and expressed pain from a recent injury. His cries for help and the shouts of onlookers were ignored despite the fact that he was already subdued.
Thank you Peter..for the information
There was no harassment, there was no brutality, there was no attack by the police and there was no mistreatment.
“A 16 year old student was arrested over a verbal altercation.”
WRONG. He was arrested over an ASSAULT. He shoved the administrator and spit on him. Both things are assaults. NOT “verbal altercations”. There you go trying to spin this into anyone’s fault except the person it belongs to. The student.
I hope Parent will take the two teens into their home.
Weird how the freshman spokesperson for the BSU called one of the detained teens a little boy. Her transparent infantilizing of a fellow student is a ridiculous lie. She is not a trustworthy source. The BSU deserves better leadership.
There are two videos that document almost the entire police portion of this event:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CroUTR7MZ1V/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
tinyurl.com/ma-arrest
In my review of these two videos I see:
– one student who complies with a detention order, is cuffed, interviewed and then released,
– a second student who resists the detention order, tries to flee, falls down while a police officer has a hold on his shirt, is rolled on to his stomach, cuffed and continues to resist
– no harassment by the police
– no brutality by the police
– no attack by the police
– no mistreatment by the police
– no attempt by the police to impede the video taping (the close up shots were clearly the videographer getting shots on police officers’ name plates and badge numbers not the police themselves blocking the camera.
I have been told that there is a third video but Parent refuses to post a link to it.
Please watch these videos and post your own interpretations.
Peter:
I have watched them and they are exactly as you describe. For some unknown reason Parent wants to spin this into something it’s not.
Parent:
In case you missed this:
As a past M-A student, I can honestly say that the police officers need to get involved. These kids are getting bolder and are becoming more violent. The parents aren’t there so they think their kids are angels or can’t be as bad as they are being told … but they are!
We can’t let these kids think they can’t get treated like adults when they do adult things. How are they supposed to learn if we are protecting them from consequences of their behavior?!?!?!
If you resist arrest, you are going to end up getting hurt because they are trying to secure the subject so no one else gets hurt. It’s really that easy! The student already assaulted someone, who’s to say they won’t again. I’m not sure where people’s logic are nowadays. The color should not matter but this incident has to do with a student and their family crying that they were mistreated when the student caused ALL of this because of their physical actions. Where did they learn to use their hands and say horrible things in the first place? If they are not getting disciplined or taught how to be respectful and not use violence at home, what is the school supposed to do? Just take the abuse. That’s NOT on them and they have every right to call in the police and let them handle it when a student gets violent. Maybe students will learn this way!
I am teaching my kids the way I was taught … RESPECT! Just because you’re mad doesn’t mean you can do whatever the hell you want. And I’m not gonna stick up for my kid just because he’s my kid … no one is perfect and teens think they are untouchable. And I know some students whose parents act like they can get away with anything. Stupid actions = consequences. Maybe they’ll think twice before doing something stupid next time.
Most, if not all, of the officers are wearing body cameras so there will be a great deal more video documentation of this event when that footage is released.
“Most, if not all, of the officers are wearing body cameras so there will be a great deal more video documentation of this event when that footage is released.”
Unless they follow the lead of the Palo Alto Police, which infamously lost several minutes of bodycam footage in a highly publicized case. Gee, how’d that happen. It simply disappeared.
Parent – are you capable of posting a positive comment?
Why do you spend some much effort attacking all of our institutions?
“Unless they follow the lead of the Palo Alto Police, which infamously lost several minutes of bodycam footage in a highly publicized case. Gee, how’d that happen. It simply disappeared.”
We get it Parent, you hate the police. Been on the wrong end of law enforcement too
many times? I notice you are very good at deflecting and never actually answer or address responses to your criticisms.
“Been on the wrong end of law enforcement too many times?”
Sure, this is an every day occurrence in Atherton.
But if you can stay on topic … why were motorcycle cops at the scene? Typically their role is one dimensional – traffic patrol, traffic violation enforcement. Striking looking guys, with their calf boots and helmets and sunglasses, almost military-ish in appearance, wouldn’t you agree?
Why is it the motorcycle cops grabbed the 16 year old student, as opposed to one of the other officers at the scene. If I’m the family of this child, I’d be asking these questions.
And to those who say the student tried to “escape”. Really? I see a student walking away, this is not an unexpected behavior. Let’s get real, how far could he have gotten. If the student had walked another 25 feet, is that a big deal? Could the officer have simply shadowed the student, and assured him he just wanted to talk?
The student was released to a guardian later in the afternoon … so much for the “violent threat” rhetoric. This kid was not a threat. He was angry, and he lost his temper. Teenagers can and will do this and I’m interested to know if someone got in his face because in today’s world, that approach is no longer effective.
You have no idea what this kid’s homelife is like, you have no idea what kind of stress he lives under. It’s so easy for aging and retired fire personnel sitting at home on the couch collecting a fat pension to pass judgment on this kid and/or his parents.
Silly me, I have compassion for this student.
I have lived an extremely fortunate life. I refuse to turn a blind eye to the living conditions in East Palo Alto, and what these kids live with, day in and day out.
What years I have left I want to use to do what I can to help people who are in less fortunate circumstances, and who may not have a lot of options in the future.
You’re free to mock me, I’m comfortable with my station in life.
” why were motorcycle cops at the scene? ”
Simply because motorcycle officers are first and foremost police officers. While on motorcycle duty they, unsurprisingly, use motorcycles. Mounting a motorcycle does not relive them of or alter their primary responsibility as a police officer. And being on motorcycles frequently allows them to arrive at an incident before other police officers.
In sum, it is best not to opine about matters about which you clearly know little – “Typically their role is one dimensional – traffic patrol, traffic violation enforcement. “
@ Parent
I, too, have compassion for this student. In my earlier posts, I advocated for counseling so he can learn to control his anger. But when someone turns violent and threatening, as this young man did, there’s no time to investigate his home life. That comes later. First, whether he’s rich or poor, you detain him and see if he poses any further threat. That’s what the authorities did. Since they released him, I would guess they were satisfied he did not pose any further threat. Now I hope this young man can get the help he needs.
Parent, please invite the threatening student and his family to live with you. We don’t need anymore problems here in East Palo Alto and he’s a problem.
“In sum, it is best not to opine about matters about which you clearly know little -”
According to my friends on the police force, what I stated is perfectly accurate. As far as being the fastest to arrive on the scene, how many square miles is Atherton? Let’s not pretend the motorcycle cop has some distinct advantage on surface streets in a very small town.
I know quite a bit about cops, and the absolute boredom of the job when the radio is quiet. One dispatch and a bunch of guys hungry to actually do something rush to the scene, and then usually just stand around.
Six cops, one 16 year old. Let that sink in.
Parent, you know Peter Carpenter isn’t just sitting around collecting a pension, right?
Congratulations, Peter Carpenter, to both you and your wife, for your award. https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2023/05/05/from-motion-sickness-patch-to-iud-consent-form-peninsula-couple-changed-the-pharmaceuticals-world
Patent:
Identify yourself: as many have or hide. I think the APD would like to know you and try to mend their relationship? Unless you’re not objective or open minded?
“Sure, this is an every day occurrence in Atherton.”
You spend a lot of time in Atherton? So do I. I’ve never wound up on the wrong end of law enforcement there. Makes me wonder what you’ve been doing that I haven’t.
“why were motorcycle cops at the scene? T”
Because they are police officers in a small town. They handle more than just traffic enforcement in Atherton.
” If the student had walked another 25 feet, is that a big deal? Could the officer have simply shadowed the student, and assured him he just wanted to talk?”
No. The kid was accused of a violent assault. You don’t just let a suspect in a violent assault “just walk away”.
“The student was released to a guardian later in the afternoon … so much for the “violent threat” rhetoric. ”
This occurred AFTER the student was taken into custody and an investigation was conducted. What don’t you understand about that?
“You have no idea what this kid’s homelife is like, you have no idea what kind of stress he lives under. ”
You’re right and in this situation when the police arrived neither did they. At that moment it was unimportant. Once he was secured, the officers could safely conduct an investigation and discern that information.
If you want to help, I suggest you help this kid get counseling for anger management. It will serve him well in his future.
Oh, and I’m not sitting around collecting a pension. And, unlike you, I’ve actually done the job and can speak from a place of knowledge and understanding of what is involved in actually doing the job. You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.
To set the record straight – I am not a retired firefighter with a “fat pension”.
I am a former firefighter (actually a rural volunteer firefighter and then a US Forest Service Smokejumper) and a former long time Director of the Fire District – none of which qualify me for a firefighter’s well deserved pension.
I do “enjoy” VA disability payments as a result of my leukemia which was caused by my heavy exposure to Agent Orange during my military service in Vietnam.
Parent – Please understand that the police officers’ responsibility in this event was to arrest and detain an individual who had physically assaulted and threatened a school administrator. Recent history has shown that in such circumstances there is a significant probability that such an individual might then resort to a mass casualty event in which case the timely police response would have been life saving.
It was NOT their job to adjudicate the facts or to counsel the suspect – that is the role of the district attorney and, if appropriate, the court.
We should certainly be concerned with the well being of this student but only after any potential threat to others had been prevented.
Your compassion is to be applauded but your awareness of the very real threat posed by this situation is lacking.
“The student was released to a guardian later in the afternoon … so much for the “violent threat” rhetoric. ”
What, would you have preferred he be held in juvenile all last weekend, Parent? I’m glad he wasn’t -that bodes well – and I bet you feel the same.
If you know the families of either boy or have anything to offer them that is helpful, I hope you can offer that.
“”The student was released to a guardian later in the afternoon … so much for the “violent threat” rhetoric. ”
Perhaps the police department ran a background check on the student and his family to determine of there was a history of violent offenses – and found none.
Perhaps the police department ran a background check on the student and his family to determine of there were any registered guns at their residence – and found none.
Neither of those outcomes could have been predicted.
Better safe than sorry.
Perhaps this student did have difficult circumstances in his life that led to this incident. I’m sure this will be taken into account in any ultimate disposition, and I also cannot imagine this conduct – assuming the charges are accurate – having any big impact on his life. Most of all, I hope he learns from it. When I was growing up, laying hands on a teacher was unthinkable. The “good” that hopefully comes out of this incident for him is developing restraint in emotional responses in the future.
Parent is correct that people who are the targets of bad behavior have choices in how to respond. This response involved calling the police. Again, I wasn’t there. I don’t know if there were other realistic alternatives because I didn’t witness the actual behavior. But it does illustrate that when police are called, control of a situation is abdicated and I’m sure the administrator didn’t foresee this protest as a likely outcome.
I continue to maintain the Atherton police behaved appropriately in this situation. Certainly there have been a few shenanigans involving them over the years, reported by the Almanac, and another learning from this situation should be how that type of misconduct can come back to bite an organization in public perception. We may be seeing that now. They would benefit from continuing to (strictly) engage in the above board behavior of very recent years.
In short, everyone can learn from this. And that would be best for everyone.
“In short, everyone can learn from this. ”
The first thoughtful (pun intended) post I have seen. A complete opposite of the “I raised my kids with RESPECT!” and “the parents raised him wrong!” and “I swore the uniform!” …more judgment on the kid or his family. None of those statements examine what’s going on with the student, or his family life, they are arrogant “I’m better”, “I know” exclamations.
As anyone who has ever worked with youths will tell you, when a child acts out he is reacting to something that existed or exists prior to the event which caused the child to act out. And there is a golden opportunity to try and help the child and figure out what’s causing the stress.
At M-A, you’ve got about 2500 kids. My guess is about 1% of those kids have an unstable home life, or, are in the early stages of deteriorating mental health such as early anxiety, depression, bipolar, or a combination of them. Teachers know exactly who these kids are, no different than a farmer knowing which of his herd needs attention. When you look at the same group day in and day out, you spot the outliers and you ignore the rest. I guarantee you the school was aware this student was behaving in a manner which warrants attention, it can show up in teacher reports, tardiness, absences, or grades. These are the kids your *must* focus your resources on, because we owe a duty to them. We don’t really need to worry about the kid whose Mom picks him up in a Mercedes SUV.
This is where I think the admin failed. This student needed to be treated with extra care, and it’s why I’m curious to know if someone made the foolish decision of getting in his face.
To those blaming the parents: have you considered that the parents themselves may be struggling with substance abuse, economic hardship (a certainty), or an unhappy marriage. How dare you try to pin this on bad parenting, you have no idea what goes on in this child’s household as you sit in your comfy home with a secure mortgage.
“This is where I think the admin failed. This student needed to be treated with extra care, and it’s why I’m curious to know if someone made the foolish decision of getting in his face.”
Don’t confuse prevention with emergency response.
When a house is on fire you don’t stop trying to control the fire (suppression) until you first figure out how the fire could have been prevented.
At issue here is what happened after the student engaged in violent behavior.
That response was totally appropriate.
Now that the very real potential for greater violence has been averted we can become much more reflective.
“Perhaps the police department ran a background check on the student and his family to determine of there was a history of violent offenses – and found none.”
And perhaps they simply talked to the kid, and a cop who knows a thing or two about psychology and teenagers came to the quick conclusion that this kid was simply upset and lost his temper.
Perhaps the kid told the cop, once the cop had gained his confidence, exactly how things unfolded in the admin office. And perhaps that same cop talked to the administrator to get his version of the story. And perhaps that cop found a few holes in the story and a few exaggerations. Did he really knock the glasses off your face? Well, um, not exactly knocked. Did he really spit on you? Well, not exactly spit, it was saliva and it got on me. Did he call you a homophobic slur? Why yes officer he did! And the cop is thinking … do you want me to tell you how many times I’ve been called the most vile names imaginable?
You see Peter, the world of “perhaps” is endless. Perhaps you were not re-elected for a certain reason … anything goes when the word perhaps is used in a sentence.
The school can only do more harm at this stage. If the administrator presses charges such as assault, or claims a hate crime occurred, this will get an order of magnitude worse. If the administrator takes the high road and realizes just how fortunate he is to be sitting on an annual salary north of 200K and with a guaranteed pension, he may come to the conclusion that his life is blessed, this kid’s life is filled with struggle, and all things considered, the focus should be on putting this whole event to rest.
If I was the administrator, I’d ask to meet with the kid privately, behind closed doors I would say the following: I want you to know I have no hard feelings toward you, I was having a difficult day, I assume you were too. I effed up badly, I lost my head, and I should not have done that. I am sorry. I respect you, let’s move on.
Parent – I think you are finally on the right road – What can we do now?
Thank goodness you have stopped attacking the police for their very appropriate response to the student’s violent behavior.
” I effed up badly, I lost my head, and I should not have done that.”
And you KNOW the administrator effed up because? You were there? If not, yours is just more pure conjecture with the spin this wasn’t the student’s fault really, it was just because of his “circumstances”. You need to stop trying to pin the blame on the administration and place it where it belongs, on the kid that broke the law.
Menlo Voter, I’m not sure you know the meaning of taking the high road. In short, it means putting your own selfish interests away if it will result in a positive outcome.
Angry people, vindictive people, people who use ad hominem tactics – they don’t have the capacity to take the high road.
I strongly suspect the high school administrator is none of the above, I think he will see the fastest route to a positive outcome is to accept blame, even an outsized portion of blame, if it will lead to a better outcome *for the student*.
It’s exactly what good parents, good spouses, and good co-workers do all the time and it is highly successful. C.S. Lewis is credited with explaining this concept in one of his several books.
The surest way to cause more harm is to (if I may borrow a page from what I have seen here) say things like “you don’t get it!”, “you’re one of those!”
Sadly, people who lead with this type of finger pointing are all too common.
Peter I do not think the police action was appropriate given the circumstances and apparently there are more than 500 people (those who signed the petition) who agree with me. You, and a couple of other posters disagree.
This student was not behaving erratically in the aftermath of the argument with the administrator, he walked from the admin office to the bus stop – about 200 yards – so that he could get a bus ride home.
When the police arrived he turned his back on the cop, and took perhaps three slow steps before the cop grabbed his shirt. Most people, when they feel a hand on them, will instinctively reflex away from it. Could the cop have let go? Of course he could have. But wasn’t the kid a threat to everyone? Hardly … there were six cops with pistols watching everything. The kid was powerless, and he wasn’t going anywhere.
While grabbing a collar may be something cops will do with adults exhibiting threatening behavior, it is entirely inappropriate with a 16 year old kid at a bus stop with his classmates.
The student was not escaping, or fleeing. Where was he going to go? Another 20 feet down the street? If so put a cop 40 feet down the street, in a non threatening posture, hands out, saying “we just want to talk, we need to hear your side of the story”. This is how a situation gets de-escalated.
Having a teenager face down on the pavement as he is writhing in pain (he had recently had abdominal surgery) is not a good look for the Atherton police.
“But wasn’t the kid a threat to everyone? Hardly”
There was no way to know that at the moment and police have to act “at the moment”. They don’t get to go sit in the shade under a tree and decide what to do next.
“”we just want to talk, we need to hear your side of the story”. This is how a situation gets de-escalated.” The responsibility of the police in this situation is to identify and isolate the potential threat, not to engage in a discussion of what might have happened.
Parent – sadly you are not prepared to take the high road with regard to your continued criticism of the police. Not a very good example of walking your talk.
Parent – I would like to nominate you to spend a week at MA as Coach Parks 2.0.
And when you get a racial, gender, ethnic slur hurled at you and you are slapped so hard on the side of your face that you see stars what will you do?
I know what Coach Parks would have done. And so do the students – so none of them would ever have dared to do that to him in the first place.
Parent:
It’s sad that this has split the community. To find “ middle of the road” is impossible. School Officials have a huge task ahead. Bonding wounds between students and all school employees should be on their training agenda ASAP.
APD was tasked with a call for assistance. All their reactions and actions were reasonable, lawful, and professional.
Parent, take part in the healing process. I’m assuming you’re a parent there at MAHS. Your hidden identity only losses credibility with me, and probably many.
It appears they need your input as you have done here.
Peter I was around when Ben Parks was around.
I need to remind you we no longer live in the 1970’s.
You live in the past, you have admitted your age so it’s not a surprise that you pine for your younger days and some form of street justice. But the world has changed Peter, the world has progressed. Nowadays we use the word de-escalation, it is the preferred approach to conflict.
Proper de-escalation techniques can head off an entire series of unfortunate events.
Sometimes de-escalation does not work!
But it should always be the first tactic. I know some people, some of whom were cops, and they are really good at this skill. Why? Because it makes their job immeasurably easier if they can head off a problem instead of cleaning up after one.
And so as I have stated from the beginning, I really want to know if that administrator got in this kid’s face. And I think the Atherton PD’s response was way over the top.
“It’s sad that this has split the community. ”
On what basis can you make this statement? I see two or three people ranting about justice and police activity and “respect” and “parenting”.
Do you speak on behalf of the citizenry of Atherton, Redwood City, Menlo Park and East Palo Alto when you claim to know it has “split the community”?.
I do not need to earn credibility with you Rob, you are not important to me. My life is unchanged whether I am credible to you, or not credible to you. Honestly, I’d rather not know you as I tend to avoid people with such dyed-in-the-wool convictions. Don’t take this personally, I just prefer people who look at things with an open mind and don’t jump to conclusions.
If, in your own words, the high school “needs my input”, this is an admission the high school administration has mis-stepped, and it “needs” everything I have posted thus far. Um, Rob, Mr. Silano, … not more than a day ago you were absolving the high school of all blame, they were 100% justified in every action leading up to and after the event between the administrator and the student. What changed Rob?
And if I lack “credibility”, as you claim, why are you urging me to help the administration of Menlo Atherton High School? Do they really want to input from someone who has, according to you, no credibility?
“nd apparently there are more than 500 people (those who signed the petition) who agree with me.”
Yes, they signed a petition with a false description of what happened. 500 people with an opinion based on bad information doesn’t exactly make up a good sample.
“Sometimes de-escalation does not work!
But it should always be the first tactic”
Parent – You live in a bubble where you apparently have never had to make life and death decisions in a moment.
Try thinking about what you would do if your parachute does not open, if someone pops up 10 ft in front of you with an AK-47 pointed at you or a forest fire crowns out over your head. These are not moments for quiet reflection or de-escalation but rather moments that must trigger an immediate trained response. It is hard to understand such situations if you have never experienced them.
************
“I guarantee you the school was aware this student was behaving in a manner which warrants attention.” Where do you get such great certainty in this uncertain world?
“Sometimes de-escalation does not work!”
That’s right, just as I said before. You still have not answered the question, how do you know de-escalation wasn’t tried by the administrator? Were you there? If not, you don’t know do you? You are making the assumption that it wasn’t. Again, your spin is always “it was the administrations’ fault”. A fact not in evidence.
“You live in the past, you have admitted your age so it’s not a surprise that you pine for your younger days and some form of street justice.”
No pining on my part – I live in the real world and I have zero interest in “street justice”. Why do you continue to lie about what other people have posted when there is such a clear record above of what I and others have stated? How does that contribute to honest dialogue?
Coach Parks, if you had ever known him, was not into street justice but rather he was well versed in discipline, respect and maturity and he could convey those principles to others in a forceful way.
Peter, hyperbole much? Parachuting? AK-47? Forest fires?
If you are curious as to how high schools are aware (with certainty) of kids with behavior issues and which students warrant attention, perhaps your reading skills need some fine tuning. As I had mentioned, schools as well as youth sports administrators, as well as youth community organizations use metrics to assess the youth. If there is a performance drop off, it does *not go unnoticed* and it often (but not always) is the result of an unstable home life over which the child has no control. For other kids it is budding mental illness, a tragedy, but genetics are not always favorable to every person.
An unstable home life can occur in Atherton, or East Palo Alto, although instability at home is more prevalent in zip codes which are under economic distress. Think rampant inflation, and the grocery bill, is impacting East Palo Alto?
These kids, the ones with behavior issues, need the most attention. They are are the most risk of an unhappy future and society has one chance at helping them before they turn 18 are released into the world.
Schools have a tremendous advantage in this type of monitoring because schools have teachers who take note of classroom behavior, the assigned classwork results in a grade, and the attendance rolls will show whether students are chronically tardy, or absent. All of these metrics matter, and all of the teachers know who to focus on. As I had stated previously, in large groups, one quickly learns who to ignore and who to watch.
School teachers, like cops, end up being experts in observation because it’s a requirement of the job, day in and day out.
Schools are severely under staffed when it comes to student mental health, be it a product of home life or brain chemistry. Some of these kids just need someone to talk to, and a pro can quickly assess what’s going on and recommend a course of action.
“I know what Coach Parks would have done. And so do the students – so none of them would ever have dared to do that to him in the first place.”
Street justice? Eye for an eye?
“And when you get a racial, gender, ethnic slur hurled at you and you are slapped so hard on the side of your face that you see stars what will you do?”
Walk. Away.
Get it? Walk away.
In such a situation, an adult and especially an adult at a school knows that there is no other option. You do not respond in kind. This is so elementary, it’s concerning you are not fully aware of this.
Enjoy your Sunday and I hope you do not encounter any forest fires.
“ Street justice? Eye for an eye?”
Clearly you did not know Coach Parks. He would never have walked away nor would he have engaged in street justice.
He would have had a heart to heart, man to man talk speaking as a person of known integrity and character.
If you have ever been in a leadership position you know the unacceptable consequences of just walking away from violent behavior – it simply sanctions more such behavior.
Parent, how do you know the kid’s parents are experiencing financial hardship?
Funny that you mention Coach Parks in the 1970s when he was around much longer than that.
How do you know the administrator exaggerated the incident? Why do you shrug off hate slurs from the kid? Also weird that you play down or ignore the threats. You constantly twist what reportedly happened without backing it up.
Peter, hyperbole much? Parachuting? AK-47? Forest fires? “
You prove my point. To you these examples are hyperbole because you live in a bubble but for me they are each reality.
“Parachuting? AK-47? Forest fires? “
You prove my point. To you these examples are hyperbole because you live in a bubble but for me they are each reality.”
You’re not living in the present world Peter … the AK-47 is an assault weapon and most adults are aware these are mostly illegal to possess in the state of California, and have been illegal to possess for approximately 35 years. If any resident owns one, and there a few out there which were licensed prior to the ban, it’s highly unlikely it will ever see the light of day other than at a shooting club.
Your “reality” is truly unique.
“Your “reality” is truly unique.”
Yes indeed it is, and my personal experiences with parachuting, AK-47s and forest fires have shaped by appreciation for the necessity of being able to act in the moment – when walking away in not an option.
My model for how young people behave and mature is exemplified by the book Young Men and Fire while yours seems to be exemplified by Lord of the Flies.
This Palo Alto Weekly reporter captured my thoughts well:
“After his freshman year at Harvard University, he applied for a wildland firefighting job in California and was ultimately invited to be part of an elite smokejumper program, in which firefighters parachute out of planes to fight remote forest fires in difficult terrain where danger is ever-present.
Carpenter said smoke jumping forced him to confront the reality of the workplace — a place where there was intense teamwork, which people’s lives depended on.
“Smoke jumping was one of the most fundamental experiences that I have had in my life. It was a much more formative experience than any of those I had at Harvard. … I learned how to work with other people, how to value their expertise, how to judge them and when it was best not to judge them at all,” he said.
After graduating from Harvard with a degree in chemistry, Carpenter became a parachutist during the Vietnam War, serving in the U.S. Marine Corps 5th Force Reconnaissance Company, going behind enemy lines to collect information about the opposing force’s troops. He was later asked to work in the office of the Secretary of Defense focusing on Vietnam War projects.”
https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2023/05/05/from-motion-sickness-patch-to-iud-consent-form-peninsula-couple-changed-the-pharmaceuticals-world
As for “sitting at home on the couch “:
“In 1990, Carpenter left his executive vice president position to work in nonprofit leadership. Over the past 30 years, he’s served on 25 boards and as an elected member of the Menlo Park Fire District board of directors and has held roles with various organizations including Leadership Palo Alto and the National Academy of Sciences. “
A local new profile … just beautiful.
Vanity knows no bounds.
“Vanity knows no bounds.”
Jealous?
If Peter is vane, I know him and he is not, he EARNED it if he wanted to be. He has served this country and his community for most of his life. What have you done? Besides criticize the police and school administrators?
I notice you still refuse to answer the previous questions I posed, so I’m not expecting much of a response now.
Parent – You accused me of hyperbole and of sitting on the couch.
I simply provided you with a independent reporter’s factual statements refuting your baseless charges.
Do you really expect other people to put up with your never ending string of false statements?
I can’t believe these comments are still active…
Enjoy your Sunday, spend sometime with your families.
“Enjoy your Sunday, spend sometime with your families.”
You mean in between parachuting into forest fires while keeping a keen eye out for AK-47s? There’s only so many hours in the day. If you will excuse me I have a diploma to polish. I have guests coming over and I really want them to see it positioned above the newspaper article about me, which of course is next to my medals.
Parent:
if you aren’t going to do anything besides troll, just go away.
Parent – It is reassuring to know that you do have both a diploma and medals.
Please share them with us so that we can properly judge your credentials and your credibility.
If school administration fails to call law enforcement authorities, they will be criticized for their inaction and willfully ignoring the risk to other students, especially if that problematic student eventually resorts to violence. If the school calls the police, they are criticized for failing to de-escalate. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
No student is allowed to make homophobic slurs or put their hands on anyone, especially an authority figure like a school administrator who is there to manage the school and keep it safe.
This is what happens when a teacher “just walks away” from a violent attack:
“A Tennessee high school teacher was pepper-sprayed twice by an unruly student who became incensed after he confiscated her phone during class, new video shows.
The female student follows him out of the classroom, telling him: “Give me my phone!” She then holds the pepper spray close to his face before spraying him a second time, causing him to fall to his knees and yell.”
https://nypost.com/2023/05/08/tennessee-teen-pepper-sprays-teacher-after-he-takes-her-phone/
The fantasizing about “but what if the student had possessed…” is astounding. The fact is that there is no evidence he had access to any weapons, other than a toy water gun, or that he intended to inflict harm on anyone. Don’t accuse him of the misdeeds perpetrated by others. True, he lost his temper, which no teen has ever done before, and said some inappropriate things, ditto.
As for the fact that he was not apparently harmed during the arrest: we know that now. But I can only imagine that running through the head of that teen– and in the minds of all the kids watching — was the number of videos they’d seen in which a POC was murdered by police in front of bystanders. Understandable that he and they were terrified.
Finally, people who feel the compulsion to trot out their credentials and accolades only demonstrate how removed they are from the world of this boy and his classmates. Cultivating empathy might be a good project for you.
Frozen, you said, “or that he intended to inflict harm on anyone.” He reportedly threatened the school employee, as per the principal. That’s an intention to inflict harm.
“The fantasizing about “but what if the student had possessed…” is astounding. The fact is that there is no evidence he had access to any weapons, other than a toy water gun, or that he intended to inflict harm on anyone. ”
The fact is that no one knew when this violent attack occurred if the student had access to a weapon or intend to inflict further harm.
Would you bet your life and that of others that he did not have access to a weapon?
The police detained him and evidently established that he did not pose a further threat.
He ended up on the ground because he resisted arrest. The other student, who was temporarily detained, cooperated and remained standing until that student was handcuffed and he decided to sit down.
Frozen – as a poster who does so with my actual name I have an obligation to correct the record when anonymous posters make false statements about me.
Such corrections are unrelated to my empathy for others.
“The fact is that there is no evidence he had access to any weapons, other than a toy water gun, or that he intended to inflict harm on anyone.”
100% percent correct! Finally a sane voice on this forum.
The student went to retrieve a water gun … specifically a pool noodle type of thing that could spray water. The seniors had been participating in a game in which they try to squirt each other, sort of a “last man standing” competition.
When the student went to retrieve his toy, it was a Friday, and school was out for the day (and week). The staff in the office were in the process if giving the student his property until the Vice Principal decided he wanted to pull rank, and over-rule the staff. He said no, he’s not getting back the toy. And my question is why? It’s a Friday, school is out, the week is over, the boy went to retrieve his property, he nearly got it back, and then someone gets in his face. Had that same Vice Principal been on a bathroom break or out sick, this story would never have happened.
Thus what we have is escalation, not de-escalation.
And then we get the sun-setting couch cowboys chiming in to say the kid was disrespectful, and his parents did not teach him well. They of course have no idea of how the altercation was triggered, and have no idea how the child was parented. But they certainly want people to know they fight fires, and “wore the uniform” as if anyone actually cares about that.
Take the Vice Principal out of this dynamic and the student gets his pool noodle toy back, he goes home for the weekend, and we’re not having this discussion.
Thank you, Frozen, for your rational thought and for your compassion. The student is all of 16. The odds were stacked against him from the get go. And thank you M-A staff for trying to return the boy’s property until you were usurped by a Vice Principal who decided to inject himself into the situation and make a benign transaction turn into a face down arrest by Atherton PD.
“The fantasizing about “but what if the student had possessed…” is astounding. The fact is that there is no evidence he had access to any weapons, other than a toy water gun, or that he intended to inflict harm on anyone. ”
The fact is that no one knew when this violent attack occurred if the student had access to a weapon or intend to inflict further harm.
Would you bet your life and that of others that he did not have access to a weapon?
Parent – I admire your empathy for this student but am less impressed with your empathy for the police officers.
Have you ever had to make a life or death decision in ten seconds?
Have you ever carried a weapon and had the authority to use it and then made the decision not to draw that weapon?
Empathy should not be confined to a subset of society.
“Finally, people who feel the compulsion to trot out their credentials and accolades only demonstrate how removed they are from the world of this boy and his classmates”
Exactly. And I’m certain you caught my sarcasm about polishing diplomas and displaying medals. I have never felt the need to state my credentials, as I am not defined by a diploma or a ribbon. I can name several high credentialed people who ended up in prison. Anyone crowing about his college degree is screaming “look at my privileged life, please look at me, I’m important”.
This boy takes the bus to school, he’s not driving from the Menlo Circus Club in Mom’s BMW. He’s economically disadvantaged, trying to get through high school without the luxury he sees all around him.
He did everything by the book, asked for his property, and was nearly done with the week. Then the excrement hit the fan. Why? Again, why? This kid was literally one moment from walking away with his toy, and someone decided to play John Wayne. This was *not necessary*, and it is incumbent on the school and district to issue a statement acknowledging its role, offer an apology, offer an understanding, and mend the fence. There is *no other option*.
Do not judge this 16 year old boy, and for God’s sake do not pass judgment on his parents. To the Rambos who were on the lookout for AK47’s and who “wore the uniform”, put your vanity aside and try walking a mile in this student’s shoes. Your arrogance is appalling.
The student violently attacked another person.
Neither Parent or the police get to decide if someone who has broken the law should simply be patted on the back – that decision rests with the District Attorney.
The court then can and will decide if there were mitigating circumstances.
“The student violently attacked another person.”
Question: what comes out of the back end of a bull.
It is hard to deny the facts if they do not support your illusions:
“The student then physically assaulted a school administrator by pushing them into a cubicle wall, tried to push the administrator’s glasses off their face, spit on them, and called them derogatory homophobic slurs,” according to police. Police received several 911 calls about the incident in the office, the news bulletin said.”
“according to police”
Think about that statement carefully
“”according to police”
Think about that statement carefully”
That the job of the District Attorney – not the responsibility of some privileged Parent in Lindenwood who hides their identity and attempts to discredit his/her critics with clever innuendos.
“”according to police”
Think about that statement carefully”
We already know you hate the police Parent. Rather than trying to impugn their credibility how about backing up your assertions with some facts?
Parent wants vigilante justice where he/she gets to decide who broke the law and what their punishment should be.
No need for the police, the DA or the courts – just what he/she thinks is right.
Scary.
Was the 16 year old a senior?
https://kfor.com/video/graphic-video-shows-student-attacking-teachers-aide-for-taking-his-nintendo-switch/8430590/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf16hgzQw9k
https://www.wsbtv.com/video/local-video/gwinnett-county-teacher-attacked-by-student-cellphone-footage-shows/b31f0f5c-f29c-46ce-9101-7755fb56d375/
When will M-A provide an update?
From the postings it looks like Parent is placing great pressure on the school to blame the victim (the administrator who was assaulted) and that pressure certainly will complicate the school’s response.
Hopefully the school and the injured party (which is not the student) will stick to the facts and resist Parent’s “politically correct” pressure.
Some of you are demonstrating just how far removed you are from the world of teenagers/high school students. It’s not uncommon for kids — yes, even from good homes with parents who graduated from Ivies/Stanford — to lose their tempers, to say inappropriate things, to make threats. A vice principal who responds emotionally to this kind of behavior should be looking for a different job. No doubt the vice principal escalated what would have been an easily-resolved situation in the hands of someone more competent.
I could give you multiple examples of kids from affluent homes behaving inappropriately, even violently at M-A, and not even getting a reprimand because the administration didn’t want to deal with the wrath of the parents. I can only imagine what it must feel like to be a kid from a less-privileged family, wondering when you’ll step over the line and get into trouble for something relatively inconsequential, like bringing a toy to school.
Peter, you chided me for not using my name. But if you knew my real name, you could find my home, and you might bring over your gun and kill my entire family. It happened last week (link not provided) in Texas. You don’t have a gun? Easy enough to go get one, given your flawless credentials, and in a burst of “out-of-character” anger, blow us all away.
See how that game is played?
I imagine it might be challenging to be in your big home behind walls and a closed gate in wealthy Lindenwood trying to figure out how to deal with your liberal guilt by trying to show empathy without getting up off your couch.
“A vice principal who responds emotionally to this kind of behavior should be looking for a different job.”
There is ZERO evidence that he “responds emotionally”.
Stop trying to attack the victim and to force him out of his job – which he has been doing successfully for years.
So what’s the latest with the two boys who were detained? Have they returned to school?
From the videos it appears that while two boys were detained the one who cooperated was immediately released and left the scene. I suspect it was a matter of identifying which one was the perpetrator and once that was done the non-perpetrator was released.
Frozen:
You haven’t purchased a gun recently have you? In California you undergo a mandatory background check and then there is a ten day waiting period for just the reason you said, a “burst of out-of-character anger”. It’s called a “cooling off period”, so people can’t get a gun in their hands in a fit of rage. Your hypothetical is inapt.
Parent and Frozen keep trying to turn the focus on to the victim instead of on the attacker – see this shiny object!
Fortunately that won’t work.
*******
And they keep trying to minimize what the attacker actually did:
“wondering when you’ll step over the line and get into trouble for something relatively inconsequential, like bringing a toy to school.”
Fortunately that won’t work either.
Peter Carpenter – thank you. I’m hoping this publication provides an update.
“you’ll step over the line and get into trouble for something relatively inconsequential, like bringing a toy to school.”
Frozen, you’re correct, but in this case, the toy was nothing, there was no intent to step over a line. The admin had confiscated dozens of these things, it was all part of a senior prank/game. It was not like this student was the only one who had a water toy. And it’s worth knowing that when he went to retrieve his property, it was because it had been borrowed by another student, and subsequently confiscated. All the student wanted was to get his property back and go home. He was not an agitator.
Had the vice principal not escalated things, nothing thereafter would have transpired. But he did, and it set off a truly unfortunate chain reaction that resulted in a motorcycle cop in a putting a kid face down on the pavement.
This vice principal has dug himself a deep hole as there are more than a few teachers at the school who are absolutely horrified at what happened to this student. Why? Because it was so easily avoidable. It’s really as simple as: “hey, we took this because it is not appropriate to bring this to school. We know you meant no harm, but please, don’t bring it again, OK?” Treat the kid with respect, come to an agreement, all parties walk away, and everyone has a nice weekend. Sadly, this almost happened, as the admin staff were in the process of returning the item before somebody decided to play sheriff.
This is why the school has no option but to issue an apology. Yes, such an apology may not sit well with our ex-Atherton resident paratrooper who thinks schools should run like military units. But an apology would go a long way toward rebuilding the trust of the teachers, students, and the student in question.
The admin absolutely has to take the high road here and admit there was a failure. It’s unpleasant, but it’s necessary and it sends a message that the school must abide by what it preaches: respect and courtesy.
Parent:
You keep saying “Had the vice principal not escalated things,” with ZERO evidence. If you have some actual evidence that this was the case please present it. If you don’t, stop lying about it.
I think this back and forth will be endless.
@Parent, I asked you above if the student got physical with the teacher and got no response.
If he did, which is what he was accused of, the teacher/school should not be apologizing to the student.
Why? It’s obvious. It’s not okay to lay hands on someone because they don’t do something you want. You can make a case that the teacher should have given the squirt gun back, but it is simply not okay to spit on someone, push them against a wall, and/or make an ugly slur because of it.
The appropriate response to the teacher being a martinet, if so, would have been to gone to the principal, or even to the Almanac to write an article about the teacher’s so-called bad behavior, organize a protest, write a letter, etc. Or just wait a day to get the squirt gun.
Once he laid hands on the teacher – DID HE??? – it all changed.
The school cannot condone this by apologizing to the person who got physical.
Again, when I was growing up, laying hands on a teacher was unthinkable.
“Again, when I was growing up, laying hands on a teacher was unthinkable.”
It was also against the law – and still is.
This student physically attacked and threatened a school administrator and then resisted arrest.
Some of the posters expect both the administrator and the police to apologize.
Other posters, more aware of the adverse consequences of encouraging such behavior, feel that the student must first bear the consequences of his actions before we move on to restorative justice.
Is your model of growth and learning Lord of the Flies or Young Men and Fire?
“Again, when I was growing up, laying hands on a teacher was unthinkable.”
It was also against the law – and still is.
This student physically attacked and threatened a school administrator and then resisted arrest.
Some of the posters expect both the administrator and the police to apologize.
Other posters, more aware of the adverse consequences of encouraging such behavior, feel that the student must first bear the consequences of his actions before we move on to restorative justice.
Is your model of growth and learning Lord of the Flies or Young Men and Fire?
@ Peter Carpenter
Thank you for your intelligent posts on this incident. I hope we can get a follow-up soon from the Almanac. BTW, I will check out the book you mention, Young Men and Fire.
Also BTW, I attended M-A many many years ago, in the mid-1960s, when kids from East Palo Alto were first bused in. There were violent outbursts and cops on campus. (I remember taking refuge in the girl’s locker room during a disturbance outside.) Later, things settled down, and friendships formed. Now, when I look at my yearbook, I am pleased to see all the Black and Hispanic faces among those of us white Atherton kids. I’m glad I attended an integrated high school!
Local – Thank you.
I was raised in a culture where Duty, Honor, Country, Respect and Discipline were core values.
I worry that children raised without these or comparable values will struggle in their adult lives and I worry for will happen to any institution, such as M-A, that does not promulgate and support these or comparable values.
And children who may not have learned these values at home must then learn them at school or they will fail in the test of life.
We do not do our children a favor when we lack the resolve to hold them accountable to a well defined set of values.
Here is some updated info, including a request from a newspaper for the video of the incident with the administrator and the student:
https://inmenlo.com/2023/05/13/updates-about-whats-happening-at-m-a-following-the-april-28-incident/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=updates-about-whats-happening-at-m-a-following-the-april-28-incident
This also happened when students did a walkout. Apparently the student with the hammer was angry about the walkout.
https://twitter.com/nahnahnhanha1/status/1656021237125222400?s=46&t=s18cYiw_sYVMyt5gn3H6dg
Was the hammer incident at M-A?
Peter Carpenter, yes, the hammer incident occurred at M-A, on campus.
I hope everybody realizes that the hammer video shows what a dangerous climate exists at M-A when violence is tolerated.
If teachers and administrators walk away from such incidents they are giving sanction to such behavior.
And when parents advocate walking away they are throwing fuel on the fire of student violence.
Peter Carpenter, I haven’t seen any info as to how the incident was handled by the school. I’m surprised the incident wasn’t made public via news outlets.
The very fact that this incident occurred and the police were not called makes it clear that the M-A administration is now unwilling to censure violent behavior on the campus – perhaps because of the pushback after the administration’s appropriate response to the recent student’s violent attack on an administrator.
Let unchecked such student violence will increase until something truly horrible, and preventable, happens.
I don’t know if the police were called. They may have been.
MA would have had to report that hammer incident to the cops:
Ed Code Section 48902
The principal or principal designee of a school is required to notify the appropriate law enforcement agency if a student violates section 245 of the Penal Code. An individual willfully failing to make this report is subject to a fine.
If the hammer incident was reported it should show up here: https://apd.crimegraphics.com/2013/default.aspx