Education
School Returns Phones With Apology
April 28, 2014 
Boise School spokesman Dan Hollar told the GUARDIAN Monday that school officials returned two student cell phones which were confiscated, “in the heat of the moment,” following an altercation in a hallway between a police officer and a student on Friday.
(Stock image)
“We apologized to the students as their phones were returned and no images or other data was deleted from the phones,” said Hollar. He added that students using the cell phone cameras at Frank Church HS were not in violation of any school policy.
Here is the official District phone policy which is reviewed annually:
Personal Electronic Devices
The Board believes in the importance of a conducive learning environment for students. Student use of personal electronic devices may be disruptive to the learning environment. However, personal electronic devices may be used for educational purposes under the direction of the administrator or designee. Such use must comply with District policy Student Technology Use #3239.
Any student found using technology in District classrooms or hallways during the school day without permission from the principal or designee may have the device confiscated until the end of the day. Subsequent unauthorized use may result in the technology being confiscated until the end of the school year or until a parent/guardian claims it.
The video, which went viral on the internet, and subsequent postings by civil rights and constitutionalist-type web sites caused a lot of speculation and “student chatter” on social media as well.
The GUARDIAN is satisfied the public has now been adequately informed. While police and school administrators can take some pride in the massive and rapid response to the copper’s call for help, perhaps a more measured response would have led to less speculation and public concern.
SEE PREVIOUS POST FOR DETAILS LEADING UP TO TODAY’S STORY
HERE IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM BOISE PD:
Student charged with battery on officer
Monday, April 28
Boise Police officers and Boise School administrators are investigating an incident at a Boise high school Friday afternoon.
A 17-year-old student is in custody after an altercation at Frank Church High School on West Salt Creek Drive. The incident started at about 11:50 a.m. Friday when a school administrator asked the student to leave the school grounds because of an earlier disturbance. The 17-year-old refused, so the administrator called on the School Resource Officer standing down the hall for assistance.
The Boise Police SRO talked with the student and explained the need for him to leave the campus immediately, but the student refused. This was close to noon, so dozens of students were in the hallway in preparation for lunch.
The 17-year-old turned and attempted to walk toward classrooms. The SRO took the student by the arm to escort him out of the building, but the teen moved away from the officer abruptly. As the SRO attempted to take the student into custody, the 17-year-old started punching the officer in the face. Another employee, a 61-year-old man, who attempted to help the SRO was also punched by the student.
The SRO could not get control of the fighting student, so he radioed for help from nearby officers who responded immediately. The physical altercation lasted about three minutes before the student was taken into custody. Assisting officers were at the school for about 30 minutes until lunch was over and students were back in class.
The 17-year-old was booked into the Ada County juvenile detention facility on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer (a felony), battery and resisting/obstructing an officer (misdemeanors).
The student did not require medical treatment. The SRO and school employee who were battered received minor injuries.
The investigation into the incident continues. Because it involves a juvenile on school grounds, there is no other information available for release at this time.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Apr 28, 2014, 2:51 pm
I really don’t know how to come down on some aspects. Here are my thoughts
1. LE in Boise over-responds. I think it’s deliberate and meant to intimidate.
2. Kids in school don’t have the same rights as the rest of us.. at least when it comes to teachers. As a former teacher, I would not hesitate to confiscate something from a student. And would not need a warrant. They need to do what they are told. I am not sure what kid’s rights are with regard to cops, but I suspect they are fewer than adults have.
3. However.. if the sole reason for confiscating was CYA, they deserve the criticism that they get.
4. According to one of the links, the kid was locked out of his house the night before, had to sleep in an alley, and had already been called out for sleeping in class. What do we expect from a kid going through all that? A KID. God only knows what he has gone through in the rest of his life to put him where he is.
5. If I had to bet… I would bet that the teacher who instigated the whole thing could have (and should have) handled it better to avoid the escalation. I would also bet that the BPD massively over-reacted.
I thought you did a good job in your post by using some restraint.
Apr 28, 2014, 4:43 pm
erico your #2 comment is WAY out of line.. and I hope not the way a decent teacher would act in these situations. A person (teacher) taking property from another.. kid or not is a thief and should be treated as such. Read Idaho code 18-2407
Apr 28, 2014, 6:12 pm
“in the heat of the moment,”
So the teen will say, “Honest Judge, I just got caught up in the heat of the moment” and I swung at the guy. I’m sorry.
The adults are bad examples in this case.
Apr 28, 2014, 8:26 pm
Yea! Uninformed opinions! My favorite!
Nothing like righteous indignation from people who don’t know what happened. Especially from those more than willing to fill in the blanks with personal bias based are personal experiences and things they, “heard”. Why wait for the real story to come out, that’s no fun! Much better to speculate and slander all parties. That when the real fun starts!
Teachers who confiscate things in school are thiefs! If I had to bet… Kids today! One time when I was in school… Come on people, nobody has called the police nazis yet!
Apr 28, 2014, 9:16 pm
Joe that’s the problem,the truth will not come out. The wagons have already circled. It seems some of the teachers are just as bad as some of the cops. I assumed you were a teacher, but judging by the way you write and your lack of knowledge of the law you must be a cop… and btw your insinuation that I am a student is laughable. You would be almost correct, we are close to a Nazi state. If and it’s a big IF the radio/computer traffic come out unedited we will see just how psyched to teach those kids a lesson your “bros” were. I am willing to bet the unedited version never sees the light of day.
EDITOR NOTE–FINAL WARNING!! Rick and others, if you have constructive and insightful comments, feel free to post. No more baiting each other or I will close comments.
Apr 29, 2014, 11:18 am
Careful with too much pride in the “massive response”. Code three is very dangerous for all those going about their business on the roadways. Safer perhaps than fast driving without the lights.