In the latest in what now has to be described as an escalating situation at Harper Junior High School, we saw this mention in the "Brieflies" in the January 3, 2007 Davis Enterprise:
What the "Brieflies" do not mention is the connection between this event and the ongoing harassment at Harper Junior High SchoolDavis police cited two 13-year-old Harper Junior High students Tuesday — one on suspicion of assault, the other for allegedly possessing drugs.
Officers were first called to the East Covell Boulevard campus shortly after 1:30 p.m. after one of the boys entered a classroom and attempted to strike a student, nearly hitting a school employee who tried to stop him, Lt. Colleen Turay said. The Davis boy was cited on suspicion of assault and released to a parent.
About an hour later, a school administrator received information that another 13-year-old allegedly was in possession of marijuana on school grounds. The administrator confronted the boy, who turned over a plastic baggie containing the drug, Turay said.
Police again responded to the campus, and the boy, a Woodland resident, was cited and released with a notice to appear in court.
This incident involved the second victim who came forward after Zach Fischer and his father Guy Fischer complained about a string of continuing harassments.
The second victim reported the problem to the administration and according to anonymous sources, the administration once again did not take this situation seriously. However, they would eventually follow up with some of the victim's friends that had witnessed the new round of harassment. Upon the administration receiving confirmation from the victim's friends they proceeded to suspend the harasser.
However, they sent the student home without the parents being present. So the student returned to the school site and waited at the classroom door where the victim was until the end of class. When the class ended, the student proceeded to attack the victim once again.
A female teacher, alertly noticing what was about to take place, stepped in between the victim and the harasser to prevent the student from harming the victim. The harasser then struck the teacher (reportedly in the stomach). Several other faculty members intervened and the police were called.
In addition to the assault, there was another student (may or may not involved in the initial incident) that was in possession of drugs. The police interviewed this student and discovered a small bag containing marijuana.
Once again, the school district appeared slow to respond to what quickly became a very serious and dangerous incident. It was not until the teacher was actually physically struck before they actually called the police. In addition, this situation was created because they sent the offending minor home without parental supervision. The district is now reportedly in the process of expelling the offending student.
This incident further validates the fears that the Fischer family has that their son is not safe returning to school. At this point, their son is receiving in-home tutoring. The family has now made the decision that their son will not be safe returning to school. Part of their pending lawsuit in federal court will be for compensation for their son having to go to a private school rather than attending public school in Davis.
Originally, one of the reasons the second family withheld their name was to enable their son to remain in school. However, after this most recent incident, they too have pulled their son from school. Neither student will be returning to the Davis Joint Unified School District anytime soon.
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
