Student charged and suspended, facing expulsion, for laser pointer in school
Boy faces charges for violating gun rule
I’ve heard some long-winded charges before but this one takes the cake. A 12 year-old student at Girard Middle School in the Girard City School District is facing criminal charges of “delinquency by way of illegal conveyance or possession of an object indistinguishable from a firearm in a school zone”. The indistinguishable item was a laser pointer in mini-pistol replica form. He was also charged with “delinquency by way of aggravated menacing” for pointing the laser pointer at other students.
According to police reports, during the noon recess at the middle school, two boys went to the school principal, David Leo, and told him that a boy was threatening kids with a gun.
Leo went to the boy and asked if he had a gun. The boy showed the principal a laser pointer that looked like a small handgun.
“The replica was authentic looking and could be easily mistaken as a real gun,” the police report stated.
Well, sure - as long as the real gun you’re mistaking it for is 3 inches long and shoots red dots of light.
In addition to the criminal charges and immediate suspension the 5th grader will be facing an expulsion hearing for violating the school’s anti-gun policy.
I think you’re missing the money line of the article. After reporting that the incident occurred and that the “gun” was in fact a laser pointer, the article states (for anyone who was concerned), “No injuries were reported.” That’s right folks. No injuries were reported from a kid pointing a laser pointer at other kids on the playground during recess. They did not supply any information on whether or not he made menacing “bang-bang” noises.
No Chuck, you don’t understand. I saw this on LAW AND ORDER. You can use those laser to take down an airplane. The more devious device is a laser pen, imagine what a school yard of these junior terrorist could do for just a couple buck!
Chuck, how about injuries from falling down laughing when the principal had a hissy fit on the playground?
With this post and some of it’s comments, and yesterday’s post about the soft-pellet-gun, I wonder if -some of you- think that kids should be allowed to bring all sorts of weapon replicas to school, since they’re not really weapons afterall.
Maybe it would be even more fun if they brought replica bombs to school too. I’m sure some silly adults might panic at first, but once they realized it wasn’t a ‘real’ bomb then they’d all have a good chuckle at how they over-reacted.
What if one of these dull-witted kids pulled out their TOY gun, not realizing an officer could see him, and the officer thought the other kids might be shot down like we’ve seen happen at many schools across the globe? What then?
I don’t think that anybody has said they support toy guns in schools. There’s no place for toys of any kind in middle or high school. The point that we are trying to make is that the punishment for having a toy should not be the same as the punishment for having the real thing.
Can you give any sane reason why this student was reported to the police AFTER the school administration had verified he only had a laser pointer?
Can you give any sane reason why this student was reported to the police AFTER the school administration had verified he only had a laser pointer?
The Precinct Chair just posted about a miniature flare gun that was ‘modded’ to be a real gun; it was four inches long. It wasn’t at a school, but if those modded toy guns, or toy/replica guns, were found at a school, would you consider it possible that lives might be endangered based on a panic reaction?
“On March 29, Leigh High School, in the Campbell Union High School District, experienced a lockdown after a youth brandishing what looked like a weapon was seen walking toward the campus in the early morning. When the boy was found, police discovered that the gun in his hand was an Airsoft gun.
In Morgan Hill earlier this year, a SWAT team was called out to an elementary school playground filled with parents watching their children practicing Little League baseball. The police received reports from panicked 911 callers that four children wearing masks and holding guns were on an adjacent field. When the police caught up with them, they found that the boys were merely holding Airsoft guns, too.
And in the Orchard City, a boy at Campbell Middle School had a gun confiscated from him after he had brought it on campus to show off to his friends.”
[…]
“Pinheiro said he’s hoping Senate Bill 1858 might help resolve the safety dilemma. One of the bill’s provisions includes banning the display of imitation firearms in public. It would also make brandishing a fake gun a misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in county jail, as would removing the bright orange markings. Manufacturers would be required to include an advisory notice with the replicas explaining that the guns could be mistaken for a real firearm and the new laws regulating their use in public.”
Risky Replicas: Mini motorcycles are popular among area youth
Sherri, none of that explains why the school felt a need to criminalize a child for having a laser pointer at school. An administration that cannot discipline a student for contraband without the assistance of the police is both dangerous and useless as an educator.
Well Jim, it looked like a deadly weapon; it’s my opinion that makes it ‘more than just a laser’. If the laser didn’t look like a weapon, I’m sure none of this would have ever happened, or at least the police probably wouldn’t have been called. Some laughed about how it was small, that’s why I linked The Precinct Chair’s post about the four inch gun. I’ve had a gun that was small enough that my hand could hide it (I have long fingers).
As far as chools calling in the police for other things like a child throwing punches, I’d agree with you that the school’s discipline skills were useless. But when a weapon, or anything that reasonably resembles an actual weapon is brought to school, I don’t question that the police were called.
If it was still like it was when we were young, then I would think it was over the top. But children have been killing children at schools for many years now. Children and teachers are probably very anxious about how bad it’s become and could easily stampede in a panic, or the school police might taser or shoot if they saw a child with a gun, or what appeared to be a gun.
swp: You really get your facts from Law and Order? You’ve got to be kidding. Besides, you can’t take down a plane with a cheap red laser pointer. The dispersion would be too great at that distance.
As for the actual story, it was a gun replica with a laser sight, not some dinky little keychain thing. I’ve heard of kids being expelled for a lot less. Kids get suspended for having any kind of toy gun, even a green translucent spaceman gun.
According to the article it was a small laser pointer in the shape of a gun. Most likely it was indeed one of those keychain deals.
Do you realize that if someone points a ‘gun’ or ‘knife’ real or fake in a threatening manner at someone, it is against the law. In a situation a such as this, a law enforcement officer may shoot and kill someone in the tenth of second a ‘gun’ or ‘knife’ is presented in a threatening manner. People are robbed with ‘fake’ weapons but are scared completely paralyzed in fear as they perceived the weapon to be real. I think the little moron got the punishment he deserved, given the past situations such as Columbine and Jonesborough school massacres were so horrific. It sounds to me that his parents need a wake up call to address what their little darling is doing bringing something like that to school.
I’m pretty sure that there has never been a massacre, in a school or anywhere else, that was carried out with a laser pointer.
Wow, can you provide proof for your displacement theory in taking down an airplane? it would be helpful for a school project. Thanks!
Also, i believe that the school overreacted. with that small a weapon (even if you can hide a real gun in your hand, a 12 year old cannot), the principal should have realized that there was no possible way for that to be a real gun. The police were unnecessary, a suspension would have been appropriate.
This issue is not dead. My 10 yr old son was allowed to buy a laser pointer key chain by his dad on his visitation weekend. He showed it to me upon returning home. I explained to him that pointing it at a person’s eyes may be harmful and it should never be used in a vehicle, etc. He followed the rules. However, without my knowlege he took the laser pointer to school today to “show his best friend†and like a 10 yr old boy wanting attention, took it out in class and was flashing it in the classroom. Not AT ANYONE but just around to get another kid’s attention. He is now suspended from school for 3 days!!! No warning, no call home, no loss of recess, no in school suspension. They are treating it like he brought a gun to school and he received a 3 day out of school suspension. He did not hurt anyone nor intend to. He did not bully anyone with it, he didnt defy his teacher, get in a fight, use abusive language, lie, cheat, steal. He merely brought an inappropriate toy to school and now this will go on his permanent record. Oh and he was citizen of the month, was chosen to represent his class in an assembly last friday, and is top of his class academically. PLEASE PEOPLE. Something is out of whack here.
Comment by Angela — April 24, 2007 @ 4:59 am