Education Law

School Violence and SROs

So, the big story today is the video out of Missouri showing a cop dragging down a student as he attempted to stop a fight in school (here is the backstory). The national cable networks picked up the story this morning. The cop is under investigation and I am not going to comment on the incident. Its a judgment call and maybe he went over the line slightly, although it is certainly not outrageous. 

The thing is, it is exactly the kind of conduct that we expect from cops, isn't it? The way he took that girl down and handcuffed her was textbook and had it been in any other setting rather than a school, he would be getting high fives from everyone. Cops are trained to fight violence with violence. To react quickly and harshly. To control the situation at all costs, including, if necessary, the ultimate violent act (the cop in that video was carrying a gun).  In schools, cops are violence contributors - they are there to do what the teacher's cannot. Now, maybe they deter more violence in the end and that is a kind of lesser evil choice we need to make. But, we have to continue to ask ourselves whether we want that kind of reactionary mentality in our schools. And that is a really hard question.

Full post as published by Edjurist on October 20, 2008 (boomark / email).