Parents upset by threats at school
Several students being questioned

By Zsombor Peter
Staff Writer

FORT DEFIANCE — School and police officials did not deny charges from concerned parents at Monday evening's board meeting inside Window Rock High School that they could have handled the rash of bomb threats and lockdowns that's plagued the district over the last few weeks better.

But with events like Columbine a constant reminder of what could happen, neither would they apologize for the steps they took to protect their children.

Since Nov. 28, police have evacuated the high school three times because of bomb threats and sent it into lockdown twice more because of reports of armed students. Navajo Nation police found no bombs or weapons on any occasion and are questioning several students for fabricating the reports.

During Monday's board meeting, parents switched between rebuking school and police officials for an overzealous response and praising them for taking the threats so seriously.

"I came with every intent to say how dare you treat my kids that way," Marcus Tulley told the board.

Like other parents, he'd heard stories from the first lockdown on Dec. 7 of police officers threatening to shoot the students at the slightest provocation. Tulley said his children and their friends spoke of officers threatening to shoot if they lowered their hands, which they were ordered to hold behind their heads.

"Who are they to say that to my kid?" he asked to loud applause.

Waiting to sign his son out of the Veterans Memorial field house after the last lockdown Thursday evening, Erin John said he even heard of students being threatened for telling an officer he had a "cool" police dog.

Navajo Police Sgt. Wallace Billie shook his head at the suggestion that his men threatened to shoot any of the students. While overseeing the lockdowns, Billie said he heard nothing of the sort.

Stewart Calnimptewa, the district's safe schools coordinator and a retired police officer of 28 years, helped with the lockdowns. He said the police acted professionally and that some students were exaggerating what happened.

"Some of these stories being told by the children to the parents weren't totally factual," he told the crowd.

"If we had done less, I'm sure people would have complained," Billie said. "The way I see it, we did what we needed to do."

In the wake of tragedies such as Columbine and Red Lake and more recently the shooting at an Amish school in Paradise, Penn., Window Rock School District Superintendent Thomas Jackson said the schools and police could not afford to let their guard down.

"Since Columbine, we do not take any threat lightly," said board President Joyce Hardy.

Making references to 9/11, Jackson called the threats of the past few weeks nothing short of terrorism.

"These are, as defined by our statutes, acts of terrorism," he said. "(The students) did terrorize Window Rock High School."

For all their cautionary words, even school and police officials had to agree with the parents that they fell short on at least one mark: communication.

When parents lined up outside the field house to sign their children out after each lockdown, neither school or police officials were there to tell them what was happening. Only school staff were on hand, shouting the occasional instruction above their heads. When they could be heard, the instructions were often confused and contradictory.

"I don't know what's going on but what I read in the paper," one parent said. "You need to make sure we are addressed, we know what's going on."

Communication was always a challenge, Billie conceded, even among the officers. During many an incident, he said, "that's the first thing that goes."

Jackson asked parents to suggest ways the district could keep them better informed. He spoke of possibly setting up a PA system outside the field house and giving staff colored vests to wear during future lockdowns so they could be easily identified.

"Can we do better?" Jackson asked. "Yes we can."

In the meantime, Billie said the police have connected several suspects to the false threats but have yet to file any charges. According to Billie, one student has confessed to writing all three of the bomb threats. Another student is under investigation for the first weapons-related lockdown and three for the second.

Police are considering charging at least some of them with felonies and making the parents pay them back for the costs of the evacuations and lockdowns. Each lockdown can cost the police department thousands of dollars.

"These bills will be high," Calnimptewa said.