On March 13, 2018, a teacher at Seaside, Ca High School accidentally fired his weapon into the ceiling of his classroom as he was attempting to demonstrate:
“how difficult it is to disarm a police officer” to his Administration of Justice class.
www.montereycountyweekly.com/… Sara Rubin.
www.dailykos.com/… Dkos user 1BQ.
Teacher Dennis Alexander, who thought the weapon was unloaded, was also an officer with the nearby Sand City PD, and a member of the Seaside City Council.
Shortly after the incident, Alexander resigned both his teaching position with the Monterey Peninsula United School District and his law enforcement position with Sand City PD, and then announced he would not seek reelection to the city council. Now three students who were hit by debris are suing the school district; the claim was filed on Aug 13.
Sounds like justice is being served, but the whole incident leaves a sour taste.
— Alexander was not authorized to have a real weapon in the classroom, loaded or not.
— Alexander let minors handle the weapon.
— The round fired into the ceiling could have gone directly into a student.
— Alexander attempted to play things down with a no-harm-no-foul attitude, and encouraged his students to keep quiet about the incident.
— The police were first called by the parents of the only student to seek medical treatment, after they noticed blood on his collar.
— The principal called police only after 2 ½ hours had elapsed, and then asked for a former resource officer with the school, instead of going through dispatch.
— Alexander locked the weapon in his car after the incident, resulting in his only citation; that of Improper Storage because the gun was visible through the windows of his car.
What concerns me most is that all of the adults seemed to rally around the teacher/cop instead of the children, and that by trying to sweep everything under the rug and downplay the severity of this episode, Mr. Alexander will be free to sneak off and find a job as a cop somewhere else. It has the feel of a good ole boys network. Finally, although these students and their families probably deserve to be compensated (I know nothing about that aspect of the story), it is a shame any money paid will come from the school district instead of from the offender directly.
Thanks to:
1. User 1BQ and their March 17, 2018 initial story
2. Monterey County Weekly
3. KSBW News.