The parents of a Westland Middle School student who brought a BB gun to school say their child made a mistake, but that county police overreacted by arresting him in front of other students and taking the student to a police station.
The May 3 incident resulted in a three-day suspension for the student, who Bethesda Beat won’t identify because the student is a minor. The parents told Bethesda Beat they fear their child might also be charged criminally, despite having no intent to use the unloaded BB gun.
In a lengthy open letter posted May 8 on the school’s online listserv, the parents claimed their child took the “immature initiative” to buy the $15 BB gun on Amazon.com for a friend, to whom he planned to deliver the gun that day. They claimed another friend saw the gun and posted a photo of it on the social networking app Snapchat, which alerted a parent who then notified the school.
According to a letter sent to parents May 3 from Principal Alison Serino, the school contacted police upon learning about the BB gun and activated its shelter procedure for about 45 minutes.
Police found the unloaded BB gun in a backpack in the student’s locker before arresting the student.
“Our intention was just to say, ‘No, our son is not dangerous. He was just stupid, immature. He made a big mistake,’ ” the student’s father told Bethesda Beat. “To us, the reaction of police is totally disproportionate. They talked to him. They knew there’s no intention of him using this. The reputation of our kid has been totally destroyed because [of] the way police handled our son. When they bent his head into the police car, he really was like a criminal.”
A police department spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment on the incident and a school system spokesperson said Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) doesn’t comment on specific disciplinary infractions.
Spokesperson Derek Turner pointed to the MCPS Code of Conduct, which gives school administrators a range of options in terms of consequences for bringing a “non-firearm gun” such as a BB or pellet gun onto school grounds. Those consequences could include peer mediation, in-school suspension or a short-term out-of-school suspension.
The only disciplinary responses to possessing a firearm on school grounds are a long-term suspension, expulsion or a move to an alternative education program.
The student’s father said he was worried the image of three police officers transporting his handcuffed son to a police car in front of the school could tarnish the boy’s reputation.
“That’s why we wrote the letter,” the student’s father said. “We want to open a debate. The way it was handled after they discovered the reality, that there was no danger, it’s creating a climate of suspicion.”
The student’s parents shared an email exchange with Officer Tamara Tisdale, who serves as the school resource officer at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and who talked to the student once the student arrived at the police station in Bethesda.
In the emails, Tisdale points to the possession of a BB gun or any other weapon on school property as an arrestable offense because a BB gun is considered a deadly weapon.
The school system’s memorandum of understanding with the police department allows police to take the lead in investigating incidents involving possession of “a potentially dangerous or deadly weapon on school property” even if the weapon “is not knowingly brandished or used to cause harm.”
Tisdale told the parents that anyone 8 years old or older can be arrested for a crime in Maryland and that anyone who is arrested, no matter that person’s age, must be restrained at least by handcuffs.
“I agree, [the student] posed no threat to me at all,” Tisdale wrote in one of the emails to the student’s mother. “But again, once in police custody, the person under arrest has to be restrained. Once in the police station, [the student] was handcuffed briefly until I arrived. When I did arrive and met with [the student], I took off the handcuffs and filled out the paperwork.”
Tisdale wrote that a social worker would be meeting with the student and the student’s parents before making a decision on any legal consequences for the student.
The parents shared with Bethesda Beat responses from 35 other parents to their May 8 open letter. Most expressed support and some wrote they were relieved to hear the full story behind why the student brought the BB gun to school.
“Over the weekend my imagination was creating a very different story of what transpired and I was truly afraid to send my daughter to school today,” wrote one parent who responded. “Even before I read your letter, my other reaction was what have we, the Westland Community/Montgomery Police, done by expelling a child, oster-sizing him from school, and causing such a public embarrassment for the student? Have we inadvertently changed a child’s future path from good to evil for committing a dumb prank?”
Others wrote the police were right to arrest the student.
“I think if a [student] brings a gun to school the police should handcuff them and bring them to a police station for questioning,” one respondent wrote. “You[r] son’s actions caused severe stress and anxiety for many students, parents and faculty. I think your letter should have apologized more sincerely for the stress that is still with many students, parents and faculty today.”
“I am sure that the experience was frightening and embarrassing for your [child],” wrote another. “It should be. Hopefully, your [child] learned that the adults at his school and in law enforcement take this issue very seriously. As a Westland parent and someone living in this country where guns are so easily obtained—often by children who bring them to and use them at school—I am reassured by the swift and serious action taken by the school and police.”
