— In Michigan, the United States District Court upheld the validity of the use of force by a school resource officer in response to a violent outburst in class by an eighteen-year-old special needs student. The student filed suit claiming excessive force, false arrest, and failure to properly train or supervise the officer. The actions of the officer were in response to ongoing displays of aggression by the student, who on prior caused educators to remove the other students from the classroom for their safety before calling for assistance. The lawsuit arose out of another call for assistance after removal of the other students.
— The SRO did not use force until after student assaulted a teacher and a paraprofessional, threw objects, “attacked three people and committed (a) violent felony of resisting and obstructing (the) police officer, and, despite (the SRO’s) verbal commands, warnings, and de-escalation …continued to resist and harm (the SRO). The court applied the rule of law that “to determine whether an officer’s force was excessive, courts ask whether the force used was objectively reasonable… courts must consider the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, understanding that “officers are often forced to make split-second judgments—in circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving—about the amount of force that is necessary… Three factors guide this analysis: (1) the severity of the crime at issue, (2) the risk, if any, the suspect posed to the safety of the officer or others, and (3) the suspect’s active resistance or evasion, if any.” In this light, the actions of the officer were upheld because “all three factors establish that (the SRO’s) force to subdue (the student) was reasonable.” Ennes v. Presque Isle County
— In North Carolina, the Wake County Public School System is deploying three mobile command vehicles to “improve efficiency and communication during school crises.” The command centers “can coordinate emergency response(s) from the field using communications tools, having uniform response(s) and supporting student reunification with family members, if needed.”
— In Alabama, the Department of Homeland Security is developing an Internet-based program that will aid responders in the event of a school crisis. Schools that join the program will provide data that will “allow first responders and administrators at each agency online access to detailed, 3-D images and layered information including emergency safety plans, the locations of hazardous materials, evacuation routes, places designated as safety zones in the event of disasters, and, in some cases, live video surveillance feeds.”
— In California, The Yolo County Grand Jury “recommended that the Davis Joint Unified School District install better cameras in open areas with instant alerts for intruders during school hours, prioritize teachers to limit traffic, keep classroom doors locked whenever possible, and begin the fencing project.”