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Erin Zlomek The Arizona Republic Nov. 5, 2007 08:37 AM
The father of an accomplished Willow Canyon High School skeet shooter has filed a formal complaint with the Dysart Unified School District regarding his daughter's suspension for mistakenly leaving shotgun shells in her car.
The complaint could be heard and decided at the district board level.
Kim Peters, a competitive shooter who attended a Junior Olympic camp for her sport, was suspended for four days after a school security guard found two boxes of shotgun shells in the back seat of her vehicle. There was no gun.
Kim's father, Tony Peters, said he proved that his daughter regularly uses the shells for sport and never intended to hurt anyone. He said that he does not want the school's charge, possession of a "dangerous instrument," to mar his daughter's permanent record as she applies to colleges.
The elder Peters appealed the disciplinary action and asked that the charge be removed from his daughter's permanent record.
As grounds for his argument, he cites a 2007 federal education statute that excludes shotguns and shotgun shells from being categorized as a "destructive device," as they are primarily used for sport.
Despite that statute, districts are free to take disciplinary actions when and where they see fit, according to the Arizona Department of Education.
Peters' appeal was rejected by Willow Canyon principal Anthony Capuano and dean of students Rick Haney last week.
Now, a complaint has been filed against the two school officials.
The complaint states in part, "I found the administration's logic, to lack logic."
Noting that Kim has served her suspension, her father again requested in his new complaint that the charge be removed from her permanent record, as it unfairly implies that she brought a gun or bomb onto school grounds.
The complaint would likely be decided on by Dysart Superintendent Gail Pletnick, according to district policy.
If deemed necessary, the district board would be called on to make a decision within 10 days of Pletnick's review.
Kim called her own actions "careless."
She said her 12-hours-a-week practice schedule got so hectic that she forgot to remove the ammunition from her vehicle, and she failed to notice it as she was running late for school Tuesday morning.
Why was the security guard looking in the back seat of someone's car and did he have a search warrant? Sounds like another case of someone with a little authority going nuts.
What would have happened if she had had arrows in the back seat and no bow, or a crossbow and no arrows, or a shotgun and no shells? What was the guard looking for and why?
It is perfectly legal for law enforcement to look into the interior of occupied / unoccupied vehicles through windows, without the need for a search warrant. The space around a vehicle in a public place is not considered private, therefore the 4th Amendment does not apply.
As soon as any part of a police officer's body or device crosses a plain of property, in this case a window or open door, then yes, a search warrant is needed unless several exigent / urgent circumstances are present.
The way I saw the article, is that the security guard saw the shotgun shells through a window, then contacted the school administrator and/or school resource officer. Hopefully, they should have contacted the student and had that driver retrieve the shells.
Reference the punishment, I think that was a tad bit severe, but then again not having the full facts makes understanding the entire issue difficult. Especially when the school climate is not known, ie-have weapons been confiscated at school before, was this person known to be sympathetic towards students who opposed authoritative figures, etc?
David Is a security guard the same as a law enforcement officer? Do they go thru the same training and can they arrest people and write citations. The car doors were locked according to the article I read.
Nah, a security guard is not authorized to arrest or issue citations to anyone, let alone physically search anyones property. It'd be like your neighbor wanting to give you a ticket for any violation of law. And no, the security guard does not receive the training we do. A security guards job is similar to a bouncer, but without the need for physical confrontation. He/she will watch for any suspicious activity, then have their dispatch center call local authorities in dealing with an issue. Kinda like Chappie Pines / Rim Club. Always nice to see kids locking cars, makes it harder for thugs and thieves to steal stuff out of their cars.
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Note: The Payson Roundup does not necessarily agree with comments posted below - responsibility lies with the relevant user alone. Read our full policy.
Posted by Shovelhead (Mike McLaughlin) on November 5, 2007 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Dad wants skeet-shooting daughter cleared
Erin Zlomek
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 5, 2007 08:37 AM
The father of an accomplished Willow Canyon High School skeet shooter has filed a formal complaint with the Dysart Unified School District regarding his daughter's suspension for mistakenly leaving shotgun shells in her car.
The complaint could be heard and decided at the district board level.
Kim Peters, a competitive shooter who attended a Junior Olympic camp for her sport, was suspended for four days after a school security guard found two boxes of shotgun shells in the back seat of her vehicle. There was no gun.
Kim's father, Tony Peters, said he proved that his daughter regularly uses the shells for sport and never intended to hurt anyone. He said that he does not want the school's charge, possession of a "dangerous instrument," to mar his daughter's permanent record as she applies to colleges.
The elder Peters appealed the disciplinary action and asked that the charge be removed from his daughter's permanent record.
As grounds for his argument, he cites a 2007 federal education statute that excludes shotguns and shotgun shells from being categorized as a "destructive device," as they are primarily used for sport.
Despite that statute, districts are free to take disciplinary actions when and where they see fit, according to the Arizona Department of Education.
Peters' appeal was rejected by Willow Canyon principal Anthony Capuano and dean of students Rick Haney last week.
Now, a complaint has been filed against the two school officials.
The complaint states in part, "I found the administration's logic, to lack logic."
Noting that Kim has served her suspension, her father again requested in his new complaint that the charge be removed from her permanent record, as it unfairly implies that she brought a gun or bomb onto school grounds.
The complaint would likely be decided on by Dysart Superintendent Gail Pletnick, according to district policy.
If deemed necessary, the district board would be called on to make a decision within 10 days of Pletnick's review.
Kim called her own actions "careless."
She said her 12-hours-a-week practice schedule got so hectic that she forgot to remove the ammunition from her vehicle, and she failed to notice it as she was running late for school Tuesday morning.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/surprise/articles/1105gl-nwvshoot1103.html
Posted by patrandall (pat Randall) on November 5, 2007 at 12:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why was the security guard looking in the back seat of someone's car and did he have a search warrant?
Sounds like another case of someone with a little authority going nuts.
Posted by patrandall (pat Randall) on November 5, 2007 at 9:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What would have happened if she had had arrows in the back seat and no bow, or a crossbow and no arrows, or a shotgun and no shells?
What was the guard looking for and why?
Posted by david_vaughn (David Vaughn) on November 6, 2007 at 6:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is perfectly legal for law enforcement to look into the interior of occupied / unoccupied vehicles through windows, without the need for a search warrant. The space around a vehicle in a public place is not considered private, therefore the 4th Amendment does not apply.
As soon as any part of a police officer's body or device crosses a plain of property, in this case a window or open door, then yes, a search warrant is needed unless several exigent / urgent circumstances are present.
The way I saw the article, is that the security guard saw the shotgun shells through a window, then contacted the school administrator and/or school resource officer. Hopefully, they should have contacted the student and had that driver retrieve the shells.
Reference the punishment, I think that was a tad bit severe, but then again not having the full facts makes understanding the entire issue difficult. Especially when the school climate is not known, ie-have weapons been confiscated at school before, was this person known to be sympathetic towards students who opposed authoritative figures, etc?
My 27 cents worth.
Posted by patrandall (pat Randall) on November 6, 2007 at 7:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
David
Is a security guard the same as a law enforcement officer?
Do they go thru the same training and can they arrest people and write citations.
The car doors were locked according to the article I read.
Posted by Shovelhead (Mike McLaughlin) on November 6, 2007 at 2:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm just glad there is a parent that isn't too busy to go the extra mile for his child. A lot of parents could take some pointers from this incident.
Posted by david_vaughn (David Vaughn) on November 7, 2007 at 5:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Nah, a security guard is not authorized to arrest or issue citations to anyone, let alone physically search anyones property. It'd be like your neighbor wanting to give you a ticket for any violation of law. And no, the security guard does not receive the training we do. A security guards job is similar to a bouncer, but without the need for physical confrontation. He/she will watch for any suspicious activity, then have their dispatch center call local authorities in dealing with an issue. Kinda like Chappie Pines / Rim Club.
Always nice to see kids locking cars, makes it harder for thugs and thieves to steal stuff out of their cars.
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