Been waiting long? Sorry, but I had a second job to do today, and several folks to talk with. The 7 page Incident Report was prepared, I am now certain, on the day of said incident. And, after examining it for quite a while, and comparing it to the report that was prepared on the 19th, I have come to a number of conclusions. 1. This is important, and should be given serious thought. There is a hero of the 19th. I wont use her name, but she is a cafeteria worker at Richlands Elementary. She spotted what she considered to be a suspicious person, a white male with long hair, gray pants, gray shirt, and carrying something on his side that could have been a gun. She thought this person was suspicious, but also thought he could have been an undercover police officer. She reported the suspicious person to superiors, they checked and found no one fitting that description was suppose to be on campus. The man entered the school. It was decided to notify authorities. Deputies, Richlands police, and a state trooper responded. The school was placed on lockdown, parents were notified, and a perimeter was established. A quick walkthrough was done, and officers made sure no one was on campus. Parents began arriving, and were rightly kept away from the building. Its difficult for law enforcement to find a stranger on campus if the campus is overloaded with strangers. All of the schools in the area were secured. Its a law enforcement procedure, and it is not wise to reveal the details to the world. Why was there a need for immediate response, a response that some say...after learning that the whole thing was the result of mistaken identity...was too hasty, that further investigation should have been done before locking the campus, and surrounding the school with lawmen? May I remind those who so soon forget about the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007. A lone gunman, armed with two pistols, killed two people about 7 am. No alert was given. Two hours later, the same gunman, in a matter of minutes, killed another 30 people and wounded a host of others. Make a note of that: in a matter of MINUTES, he killed 30 people. If the man with the long hair that no one recognized had indeed been carrying a gun, the 19 September incident could have become the Richlands Massacre. And, each and every one of us would have been saying, why didnt someone report this guy? Thank goodness, all turned out fine. And, it was indeed a case of...not mistaken identity...an unknown person. The guy with the long hair? Turned out, he was a teacher. It was National Pirates Day. And, this teacher, by some accounts, has been dressing up as a pirate for the occasion for several years. His gun was not a gun. It was a plastic sword. But, at a glance, it could have been a gun. After the scene was secured, after law enforcement officers conducted a diligent search of the buildings and grounds, the investigation began. That included a review of recorded video from various cameras on the campus. And, one camera angle showed that at 9:26, when the cafeteria worker spotted the suspicious man, one guy matching the description entered the school just as she said. Good for her!!!!!! Her description was spot-on, including his clothing. As the investigation continued, the suspicious man was identified as the teacher in question. A sigh of relief for law enforcement and the school. Thank goodness. But, no one told the parents and grandparents what had happened. They had little info, other than a later blip that their kids had been in a lockdown mode while the good guys looked for a gun toting guy, but that all was ok, because it was a case of mistaken identity. Not good enough for parents, not good enough for the public. It quickly became a matter of distrust. The sheriffs office agreed to let the school system handle the publicity. And, I am sure that is something that wont happen again. The school system kept their mouth shut, maintaining that all was ok because it was just a case of mistaken identity. The sheriffs office, on Tuesday, released an overview of the whole matter. They did not release the original Incident Report until Wednesday. The report spells out what the responding officer saw and did when he got the call. Until Wednesday morning, I did not know who the deputy was. Turns out, though, that Ive known him for a LONG time. Ill also tell you that if there was a situation at our granddaughters school, I would have complete faith in him handling the matter. The report shows a thorough and methodical procedure from the time of the call. And, again, I cannot say enough good stuff for the cafeteria worker who saw something and DID something. In my book, she should be considered a hero. Now, Im sure the sheriffs office acted in good faith in allowing the school system to handle the aftermath. A big mistake, and one that Im sure wont be repeated. The school system...well, if thats the best communications they can provide....you be the judge.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 00:46:02 +0000
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