Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2012)
Local News Cuffed continued from page 1 “Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now” B ERNIE F OSTER Founder/Publisher B OBBIE D ORE F OSTER Executive Editor T ED B ANKS Advertising Manager J ERRY F OSTER Account Executive L ISA L OVING News Editor H ELEN S ILVIS Multimedia Editor D AVID K IDD Graphic Designer M ONICA J. F OSTER Seattle Office Coordinator J ULIE K EEFE S USAN F RIED Photographers charged with a crime. In Florida, the use of police in schools came up several years ago when officers arrested a kinder- gartner who threw a tantrum dur- ing a jelly bean-counting contest. A bill was proposed this year to restrict police from arresting kids for misdemeanors or other acts that do not pose serious safety threats. In Connecticut, court officials began tracking student arrests after becoming concerned about referrals for minor offenses. Since last March, nearly 1,700 students were arrested, almost two-thirds of them for breach of peace, minor fights and disorderly con- duct. In Texas, a December report from the nonprofit Texas Apple- seed, a public interest group, says more than 275,000 non-traffic tickets are issued to juveniles each year. While it is unclear how many are written at school, the group says the vast majority are for offenses most commonly linked to incidents like disrupting the class and disorderly conduct. Texas Sen. John Whitmire said educators and police need to bet- ter distinguish between who they are afraid of and who they are mad at. “If you are afraid of someone because they bring a gun or drugs, of course we come down hard,” Whitmire said. “It’s the kids that just make you mad that you don’t need to make a crime.” In Albuquerque, which started tracking arrests after noticing more minor cases coming from schools, more than 900 of the dis- trict’s 90,000 students were referred to the criminal justice system in the 2009-2010 school year. Of those, more than 500 were handcuffed, arrested and brought to juvenile detention, officials said. More than 200 were arrested for minor offenses, including disorderly conduct. gate” and to allow O’Connell to care for his daughter, Spokane Police Chief Scott Stephens told reporters. Officers are required to keep their weapons secure, Stephens said. Spokane police-issued hand- guns are either .40- or .45-caliber, but The Spokesman-Review reported it was not immediately clear what type O’Connell had. Sheriff’s officers began their investigation Sunday, Chamberlin said, adding “it’s hard to deter- mine how long it will take.” The officer has been decorated multiple times and was honored in 2007 when he and a fellow officer rescued a man with a gunshot wound from an apartment build- ing. But he also has a history of internal affairs investigations, police officials said Tuesday. Stephens did not provide details of any internal investigations but told The Spokesman-Review there was nothing similar to the nature of the current investigation. DeRuwe did not immediately return a call from the AP. In the other recent shootings, prosecutors have said the mother of 3-year-old Julio Segura-McIn- tosh left him unrestrained March 14 in a car in Tacoma after she placed a pistol under the driver’s seat. The boy fatally shot himself in the head when the woman went to get food. The mother, Jahnisha McIntosh, 23, and her boyfriend, Eric Vita, 22, have both pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter charges. On Feb. 22, an 8-year-old girl was critically wounded by a gun that went off in a classmate’s backpack in a Bremerton school. The girl, Amina Kocer-Bow- man, was released April 3 from a Seattle hospital. The 9-year-old boy who brought the gun to school has written her an apology letter as part of the sentence he received when he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges stem- ming from the shooting. The Kitsap County prosecutor has charged that boy’s mother and her boyfriend with felony assault. Read the rest online at www.theskanner.com Guns The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Associ- ation and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. continued from page 1 in seven weeks in Washington state and the second involving a law enforcement officer’s child. On March 10, the 7-year-old daughter of a Marysville police officer was killed when her broth- er found a gun in the family car. A Snohomish County sheriff’s probe into that shooting, involving Offi- cer Derek Carlile’s daughter Jenna, is “still an open investiga- tion,” sheriff’s Lt. Brent Speyer said Tuesday. Jenna Carlile was shot with a gun belonging to the officer, but it wasn’t his duty weapon, authori- ties have said. Spokane police waited until Tuesday to announce the shooting to allow the sheriff’s office to “have an opportunity to investi- © 2011 The Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. C and jurisdiction. Some youngsters are charged with felonies. Some are freed without further incident. Others receive tickets. In Milledgeville, Ga., a city of 18,000 some 90 miles from Atlanta, Salecia Johnson was accused of tearing items off the walls and throwing books and toys in an outburst Friday at Creekside Elementary. Police said she also threw a small shelf that struck the principal in the leg, and jumped on a paper shredder and tried to break a glass frame. Police didn’t say what set off the tantrum. Baldwin County (Ga.) schools Superintendent Geneva Braziel called the stu- dent’s behavior “violent and dis- ruptive” and said the police were needed to keep the student, other classmates and the school staff safe. Salecia was handcuffed and taken away in a patrol car to the police station, where she was taken to a squad room and given a soda, police said. She won’t be spect, disinterest and kids who basically don’t care,” Bernstein said. Experts and educators point to a number of factors that lead to the arrests: Some officers are operat- ing without special training. School administrators are desper- ate to get the attention of unin- volved parents. And overwhelmed teachers are unaware that calling in the police to defuse a situation could lead to serious criminal charges. “I have had some concern for a while that the schools have relied a little too heavily on police offi- cers to handle disciplinary prob- lems,” said Darrel Stephens, a former Charlotte, N.C., police chief and executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. There is little national data to back those assertions; no numbers are tracked nationally on how often police are called in to arrest students. Whether the children are actually charged and saddled with criminal records varies by case O M M U N I T Y C A L E N D Read the rest online at www.theskanner.com A R S EATTLE 2012 Friday – Sunday April 27 – 29 Friday April 20 If you have an event you want to share with the community, email it two weeks in advance to The Skanner at info@theskanner.com JULIA ALVAREZ READS DROM A WEDDING IN HAITIT AT THE SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY: Author Julia Alvarez will read and share photos from her new novel, A Wedding in Haiti. 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave, Level 1, Free for all to enjoy. BOOK ON OVER TO WARREN G. MAGNUSON PARK FOR THE MINI BOOK SALE: Approximately 25,000 items will be up for sale to the public at bargain prices. Friday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Sunday 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. 7400 Sand Point Way N.E. Building 30 Workshop. Saturday April 28 Thursday April 19 SHOETIME: BEN GUEST (USA 2011) DOCUMENTARY: The friendship of four young black women from rural Mississippi trying to win a basketball state championship. General admission is $8.00, Youth and Seniors $5.00. 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 17th Ave. S. For more info call 206-684-4758. Page 2 The Seattle Skanner April 18, 2012 Saturday April 21 32ND ANNUAL CARKEEK PARK EARTH DAY CELEBRATION: This is a one-time 3 ½ hour volunteer event. There will be activities for all to enjoy. Donuts and coffee will be served to all who volunteer. 8:30 a.m.- Noon Carkeek Park Environmental Learning Center, 950 Carkeek Park Rd. GLENDALE LUTHERAN CRAFT AND PLANT SALE: Arts & Crafts, variety of indoor and outdoor plants and planters, lots of unique gift items. Free admission, noon – 5 p.m. 13544 2nd Ave. SW. FREE GUIDED TOURS OF KUBOTA GARDEN: Learn about the history and features of this unusual Japanese American Garden. 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Kubota Garden, 9817 55th Ave. S.
