Autistic high school student is arrested and detained for 3 days, unable to talk to parents

[Milkster]

Weed and video games are the biggest threats to America currently.

In December, 2012, a teenager went to his public school, much like any other day. The boy was an autistic special education student, who is significantly learning disabled and on a regimen of prescription medications for a number of psychiatric disorders. That day, the boy's parents began to worry when he did not come home after school.
What the parents did not know was that early on that morning, armed police officers had entered the boy's classroom, handcuffed him, and had taken him away to be interrogated without a call to his parents or any attorney, then locked up for several days.
The boy is our son.

The police action at the school was part of a "sting operation", which was secretly brought into local school district classrooms, with the assistance of key school administrators. Their goal was "identifying and purchasing illegal drugs from persons dealing".
The problem is, our son is not and never was a drug dealer.
There were plenty of news articles about how the sheriff's department heroically took down the 22-student "drug ring, with a picture of a kid being led away in handcuffs. The kid in the picture is our son.
And of course, the district was happy to tout their zero tolerance policy to the press, though zero tolerance has its fair share of critics, especially as relates to minorities and students with disabilities.

Many have linked the growth of the pipeline to zero-tolerance policies that removed educators’ discretion over how to properly respond to student misbehavior. The unintended effects of severe school discipline, often for minor infractions, include further alienation from the school setting, decreased graduation rates, and increased interaction with the criminal justice system. Data shows the burden of this trend falls disproportionately on students of color and students with disabilities, who are punished more harshly and more frequently for the same infractions other kids engage in. According to national data from the Department of Education, African American students are 3 1/2 times more likely than their white peers to be suspended—and while they represented just 18 percent of the students in the sample, they accounted for 39 percent of expulsions. Of the total students arrested or referred to law enforcement nationally, 70 percent were Latino or African American. A groundbreaking study in Texas also found racial disparities in disciplinary decision.
Students with disabilities are also subjected to overly punitive discipline at far higher rates than their peers. In fact, they are more than twice as likely to receive one or more out-of-school suspensions. And while they were only 12 percent of the students sampled by the Department of Education in their most recent data collection, they made up 70 percent of those subject to physical restraints. Both African American students and students with disabilities are also disproportionately subjected to the violent practice of corporal punishment.

On that very bad day, our son was arrested and handcuffed, in his classroom, in front of the other students, at approximately 8:30 a.m. We knew nothing about the arrest until around 3:45 p.m., after he didn't arrive home from school. After a series of frantic phone calls to the school, I spoke to the school's principal who then informed me of the arrest, with very few details, and a recommendation to contact the sheriff's department for more details. During the time that had elapsed between his arrest, and our learning of the arrest, our son had been interrogated, without having been allowed to contact us. And of course, he had no attorney present.
Persuading personnel at the detention center to allow us to speak on the phone with our son was a challenge. And not until my wife notified the detention center's nurse that our son was going to require his round of medications each night and morning, and that it is documented that he engages in self-injurious behavior when his stress levels are elevated, were we allowed to speak with him.
We were not allowed to see him until day three, when he appeared in court, the same day as the other kids who had just been made participants in the school to prison pipeline.

The School to Prison Pipeline (STPP) is a nationwide system of local, state, and federal education and public safety policies that pushes students out of school and into the criminal justice system. The system disproportionately targets youth of color and youth with disabilities. Inequities in areas such as school discipline, policing practices, high-stakes testing, wealth and healthcare distribution, school “grading” systems, and the prison-industrial complex all contribute to the Pipeline. The STPP operates directly and indirectly. Directly, schools send their students into the Pipeline through zero tolerance policies, and involving the police in minor discipline incidents. All too often school rules are enforced through metal detectors, pat-downs and frisks, arrests, and referrals to the juvenile justice system. And schools pressured to raise graduation and testing numbers can sometimes artificially achieve this by pushing out low-performing students into GED programs and the juvenile justice system.
Indirectly, schools push students towards the criminal justice system by excluding them from the learning environment and isolating them from their peer groups through suspension, expulsion, ineffective retention policies, transfers, and high-stakes testing requirements.
[...]
Special education students represent 8.6% of public school students, but 32% of youth in juvenile detention nationwide.

Our son has great difficulties making friends, which is one of the hallmarks of those with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), so my wife and I were thrilled when we learned, this past August, that our son had a new friend named Daniel. We had recently moved, and our son had just begun a new school year in a new school, within his same district, so to us, this new friendship seemed like a gift from the gods. Daniel was texting our son at a furious rate, yet each time we had our son invite Daniel over, there always seemed to be an excuse. Daniel and our son had struck up a relationship in a class that they shared, and cell phone records show that during the course of a short period of time, our son received 59 texts from Daniel's number. Daniel was an undercover cop.
While there are some limitations to the information I can share, here is what I can provide at this time:
There are two components at play; the criminal and the educational.
On the criminal side, a judge ruled last week that my son's case will be dismissed after 6 months with no finding of guilt.
On the educational side, the district is attempting to permanently expel my son from all of their district schools. We have an expedited due process hearing scheduled against the district, and a favorable ruling would likely place our son back in his school, which is what he strongly desires. The first three days of the due process will occur next week. Without revealing more than I am able at this time, we believe we have a very strong case, and excellent legal representation. We also have made a rare move, in that we have opened the hearing to the press and the general public. We do have confirmation that the press will be present.
The district has shared that only three people within the district knew about the undercover operation while it was occurring, the Board President, the Superintendent, and the Director of Child Welfare and Attendance. Each time the petition at this link is signed, those three people, as well as all other board members receive the petition in their email. This puts them on notice that their actions in this matter will not remain a secret.
One final thought. Our son has been hurt, and much has been taken from him, including his ability to feel safe, and his ability to trust. We will never forget, we will never give up on our son, and we will never stop seeking justice.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/0...e-Not-Notified

[Zeb]

They keep calling their son a teenager but don't say his age? Was it 18+?

[guartz]

undercover cops in highschools... what a terrible idea.

[shepardG]

undercover cops in highschools... what a terrible idea.

you're wrong.
http://images6.fanpop.com/image/phot...5-1280-720.jpg

[Khajit]

6 months of no school and permanent expulsion when he wasn't even found guilty? The amount of code violations in this is amazing as well since at each step of the way the cops basically violated basic legal rights and procedure. eg. not allowed to see his legal guardians who were basically required to get permission for anything that's happening.

Did the retarded undercover cop see him taking his medication and try to arrest the kid for doing drugs or something?

It's also kinda fucked up that his only friend turned out to be an undercover cop trying to invent a reason to arrest him. He's definitely going to have trust issues in the future.

[Headspace]

School to Prison Pipeline

Sounds like the administration has their priorities straight.

Wonder how much they're getting on the back end from the private prisons they're serving.

[Ragnus]

America.

[shaggnix]

he was arrested for "dealing drugs" but 0 details are given aside from that term, and the parents denying he was a drug dealer. i remember in high school under zero tolerance you could supposedly be charged for dealing drugs if you gave a friend a tylenol or advil. or did he have some of his RX meds on him? regardless, keeping him from his family for 3 days is unacceptable, but these details would mean a lot one way or the other. zero tolerance was, in my experience, employed selectively. the basketball star has shit hushed up for him, while for the trouble maker/undesirables its the excuse they needed to make him/her someone elses problem.

[Byrthnoth]

Going to go out on a limb and suspect this: http://temecula.patch.com/articles/u...a-high-schools

Sheriff's officials have confirmed the arrest Tuesday of 22 students at three Temecula high schools in connection with an undercover drug operation.


The arrests were made at the completion of a "long-term investigation by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Investigations Bureau into allegations that juvenile students were selling illicit drugs on the campuses" of Temecula Valley and Chaparral high schools, said sheriff's Deputy Albert Martinez, in a news release.


"During the course of this investigation deputies seized various illegal narcotics, including marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, heroin, LSD and illegal prescription drugs," Martinez said.


Twenty minors and two adult students were taken into custody Tuesday after they were identified as allegedly being involved in the drug sales, Martinez said.


"Arrest warrants were obtained for the juveniles and adults involved in the narcotic violations," Martinez said.


Names of students younger than 18 are typically protected in the juvenile court system; however the names of two adult students arrested on suspicion of their involvement were provided.


At Temecula Valley High School, Eduardo Rubio, 18, was arrested on suspicion of marijuana sales. He was being held at Southwest Detention Center on $60,000 bail, according to jail records.


Luke Waltrip, also 18, was taken into custody at Chaparral High School on suspicion of for narcotics sales. He was also being held at Southwest Detention Center, in lieu of $70,000 bail.


The juveniles were booked at Southwest Juvenile Hill on suspicion of outstanding warrants and any additional narcotics charges, according to Martinez.


Two adults were also arrested Tuesday when search warrants were served at a a Temecula home, according to Martinez.


Denise Robertson, 43 and Laverne Robertson, 44 were taken into custody at their residence in the 39000 block of Diego Drive in Temecula. They were booked on suspicion of child endangerment, Martinez said.


Assisting the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department with the arrests were members of the Southwest Corridor Narcotics Task Force, West County Narcotics Task Force, the Riverside County Regional Gang Task Force, the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and Temecula Police Department Special Enforcement Team.


"One of the goals of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Investigations Bureau is to maintain a drug-free living environment for the community," Martinez said. "Because our neighborhood children are the future, their objective is to keep children productive and drug-free."


He urged citizens to report illegal drug activity.


News of the massive police presence on campus Tuesday spread fast via social media.


"...anyone know why 10-12 police vehicles (most unmarked) turned East on Rancho Vista at the Temecula Valley HS at 845am?" said Rich Kirkpatrick, on Twitter.


"Lol people getting arrested today. Welcome to Temecula Valley ladies and gentlemen," said Alexz Quinlan on Twitter.


Brandon Rosser on Twitter called it a "Real life 21 jump street at temecula valley," where most of the students were arrested.


Following the large-scale bust Tuesday morning, school district officials sent email and telephone notifications to parents.


At about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, district officials said deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department arrived at Temecula Valley High School, Chaparral High School and Rancho Vista High School.


"The deputies informed our school administration that as part of an undercover drug operation, a total of 22 students from our school district would be taken into custody," said Melanie Norton, spokesperson for the Temecula Valley Unified School District.


Deputies escorted the students out of class and off campus without incident, Norton said.


Fifteen students from Temecula Valley High School were detained, five from Chaparral High School and two from Rancho Vista Continuation High School, according to Norton.


Temecula Valley High School Principal Richard Lawrence Jr. sent an email notification to parents regarding the police activity at the school.


"It is unfortunate that such a situation may negatively portray our great school," Lawrence said. "However, the facts still remain that Temecula Valley High School has great students who are doing phenomenal things, that out shine the possible issues of a few."


District officials said they adhere to a "zero tolerance policy" when it comes to drug use.


"The education and safety of all students on our campus is our top priority," Norton said. "Anything that may prohibit this from happening on our campus will always be dealt with in a swift and efficient manner."

[Callisto]

I'm not normally a fan of US litigious culture, but I hope his family sues the school district and police so hard they both go bankrupt.

[Plow]

yeah I thought it sounded like the uc conned the autistic kid into selling him some of his prescriptions...

so

"During the course of this investigation deputies seized various illegal narcotics, including ... illegal prescription drugs," Martinez said.

is probably him

[shaggnix]

yeah thats probably it. knew a few in high school that used to sell their Ritalin (lol). sounds like there was a serious issue he happened to be in the same school with, and the undercover managed to get him swept up in it.

[Galkaeater]

wouldn't that be entrapment?

[Acevalefor]

Biased story is bias.

We do not know where this kid is on the autism spectrum. We do not know if he is a minor or one of the adults arrested. The original story was published by the parents....of course they are going to tell the media that their son is innocent. There are many other reasons to look at this with a grain of salt.

I personally know several people with autism in various forms and work with kids age 7-10 with everything from slight Asperger Syndrome that is barely diagnosable to severe Rett Syndrome where the child cannot do something as simple as walk across the room without physical guidance. There is nothing in the story that tells where this kid lies on that spectrum. Until we get more details, we could just as easily assume that this child is indeed selling his prescriptions. Just because the kid has no friends (again, according to the parents who are trying their hardest to connect dots that have no correlation) does not mean he is innocent. Also, it appears he was arrested while in a classroom with other mainstream students. That tells me his "illness" is not near as severe as the parents inferred.

Just remember that mental illness does not equal innocence or victimization. Wait for some facts instead of getting indignant over a story written by the parents of a child that was arrested in connection with a drug bust. They cannot and will not tell the story objectively. It appears that the judge in this case did look at all the facts and dismissed the charges. Now let's see what the school district does.

P.S. I am not saying this kid wasn't wronged. I am pointing out that the bias in the story is sickening. Just look at the descriptions of zero tolerance and the "STPP".........really?

[Plow]

wouldn't that be entrapment?

it depends how exactly he went about it, but most likely yes, he did entrap the kid, which is probably why the case is being dismissed legally

they're now taking legal action against the school about the expulsion

[Headspace]

Should still take action against the city/county for holding the underage student for 3 days without parental or legal representation?

[Acevalefor]

Should still take action against the city/county for holding the underage student for 3 days without parental or legal representation?

We do not know the age of the student.......

[Headspace]

Also, it appears he was arrested while in a classroom with other mainstream students. That tells me his "illness" is not near as severe as the parents inferred.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclusion_(education)

[Acevalefor]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclusion_(education)

Straight from the wiki:

Implementation of these practices varies.

It varies greatly. In the schools I have worked with, only the high functioning kids with the ability to self manage are selected for mainstreaming in most classes. The exceptions are stuff like P.E., Homeroom, Labs (computer and some science labs).

However, I do know of schools that mainstream a large majority of their special needs students. So, again, it varies greatly. I may be completely wrong about this kid's illness. I am ok with that. I simply want to point out that only one side of the story has been told and that with a lot of unrelated info to help incense the reader. Bias.

[Headspace]

We do not know the age of the student.......

On Tuesday morning, the parents of one of those students attended the first day of what's called a due process hearing, a legal proceeding that aims to determine whether the district acted appropriately with regard to their 18-year-old son, who was 17 at the time of his arrest.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/...1#article-copy

"STPP"....really??

http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/s...rison-pipeline