Felony: 10-year-old used knife in school lunchroom

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Blackjack, Dec 19, 2007.


  1. Blackjack

    Blackjack Monkey+++

    Teachers at an Ocala, Fla., school called the police because a 10-year-girl had a steak knife in the cafeteria and was using it ... to cut the steak she was eating for lunch.

    WKMG-TV reports that when teachers saw her using the knife in the cafeteria they confiscated it and called the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

    Now the girl faces a 10-day suspension along with a felony weapons charge, and school officials say they have no regrets about the way teachers handled the situation. Kevin Christian, a spokesman for Marion County Public Schools, tells The Ocala Star-Banner that his district "has zero tolerance for weapons on school grounds."

    Capt. James Pogue of the sheriff's office tells WFTV-TV that the response in this case was dictated by the school's policy. "But once we're notified, we have to take some type of action," Pogue tells the station.

    The girl's uncle, Kenneth Thomas, tells the Orlando Sentinel that she's been very upset since the deputies took her into custody Thursday at Sunrise Elementary School.

    "We do understand there needs to be measures taken to make sure people don't come to school with weapons in light of what has happened at schools over the past years," he tells The Ledger. "But she's a really good kid. She was crying her eyes out."
     
  2. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I would be a bit interested to see the place if it is TRUELY weapons free. Figure that its no big difficulty to use a pen or pencil as a shank to stab someone at least as easily as a steak knife, chairs have been used many many times to beat people with, a properly rolled up piece of paper can be stabbed through drywall pretty reliably so should work as well on tissue, a belt can be used as a garrat, a padlock (or soap or keys or change etc) can be dropped in the end of a sock and used to shatter brick or a skull. The list is utterly endless and not the least of them is the human body, so I always fail to grasp what they even THINK they are going to accomplish with this crap and would be currious to see the set up if a school exists that has NO weapons in it even aside from people.
     
  3. Tango3

    Tango3 Aimless wanderer

    Last (big corporate) plant I worked maintenance in had few thousand corporate safety rules...No weapons(pocketknives) was particularly tough one for a maintenance crew. I don't think I made any points complaining " if I want a weapon I'm going for the10" #4 phillips screwdriver in my pouch here! Its a hell of alot more lethal than my 3" long swiss army pocket knife.( you morons...)!".
     
  4. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Yeah for some reason idiots dont like it when their stupidity is pointed out, especialy if they comprehend it. Just lucky they comprehended it instead of just banning screw drivers and still demanding you turn the screws.
     
  5. MbRodge

    MbRodge Monkey+++

    This is a ten year old girl we're talking about here, this school and the cops are treating her like a freaking commando! I would never admit to anyone that I felt threatened by a ten year old girl with a knife! C'mon, when is this country going to smarten up?
     
  6. gillman7

    gillman7 Monkey+++

     
  7. <exile>

    <exile> Padawan Learner

    gillman7, I don't envy you. Sounds like they may soon ban books due to the increased health problems with carrying all those books around without backpacks.

    With all due respect, this is why we homeschool. Look at the time...need to go to teach firearms class.....we'll talk later.
    [beer]
     
  8. BigO01

    BigO01 Monkey+++ Founding Member

    LOL yes I have seen this on the news for a few schools and laugh my head off at it .

    Do you know why ?

    Because 17 years or so ago the damn backpacks was THEIR IDEA !!!

    I distinctly remember when my daughter was in school and bringing home this list of crap every kid MUST have by the end of the first week and sure enough there was a backpack listed .

    I never carried a backpack in school and neither had any of my nephews who had graduated a couple of years before they started requiring this crap .

    The one thing I really loved on the list was 2 boxes of Kleenex Per child each quarter . When we went to parent teacher conference I asked about that as my child was perfectly healthy and I intended to give her one of those little pocket packs as my mother did with me when I would get a cold .

    The Teacher told me the school wouldn't buy them "despite it being a grade school" and she didn't feel it was fair to her to buy them , which was well and good with me . Problem is when I asked what was wrong with the kids bringing their own as they needed them , I was told "well some parents either can't afford them or just don't bother and think the school takes care of it so we do this and keep them in a closet" Oddly when I asked how many kids brought theirs it was less than half the kids in the room , so here I was supplying strange peoples kids so they can blow their nose .

    A few other things were X number of boxes of crayons and pencils that were suppose to be for the "Community" .

    Here we are being indoctrinated into Communism when you enroll a child in Kindergarten !!!
     
  9. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    Interesting that there's no mention of the parent who packed that lunch (assuming the child didn't pack her own lunch) and the responsibility therein.

    "No backpacks" rules are coming about due to the number of children having to be seen by chiropractors for back injuries from carrying too much weight. The schools don't want the liability.
     
  10. hartage

    hartage Monkey+++

    More kids are killed by cars (accidents) than steak knives. I wonder when they will ban cars at school ? Heck I might be right in saying more kids are injured by pencils and pens than steak knives. I'm sure those will be banned at some point too.
     
  11. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    My opinion only.....

    It is not the fault of the child; it is not the fault of the school administrator; it is not the fault of the police. The fault lies with our litigious society. Teachers and administrators no longer have discretion in administering justice and punishment in their classrooms. They are forced to comply with "no tolerance" policies in order to protect themselves and their communities from lawsuits brought in response to perceived injustice and discrimination. Suppose this young girl is a sweet child from a good home and the teacher decides to simply tell her she cannot have the steak knife in school. The teacher decides to hold the knife in her own desk until the patent can come get it. That's a reasonable response. In case 2, the child is not so nice, a juvenile delinquent in the making, who doesn't exhibit any respect for authority and is a constant source of bullying. In this case, the teacher decides that the student should be sent to the office and, to make a deep impression on the kid, the police are called.

    The next day, the outraged parents of child #2 discover the circumstances of child #1.

    No one has been hurt in either case but the school and the teacher are both sued for discrimination and mental anguish.

    One size never fits all and generalities are a disservice to both the guilty and the innocent.

    Administering the "law" is an industry which support not only LEO, but lawyers, courts, detention facilities, and most of all, the recipients of unreasonable "pain and suffering" awards.

    Rant over
     
  12. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I think the big thingon the backpacks is to elimenate privacy (ie allow faculty to be sure they can see what students are carrying easier) because I know in the city in particular they decided rather than ban backpacks/bookbags they continued to require them, they simply required that they be clear/transparent so they could see what all was inside.
     
  13. ozarkgoatman

    ozarkgoatman Resident goat herder

    I am so glad that we homeschool our daughter. If I had to deal with the crazy crap that goes on now in schools I think I smack someone in the head.[fight2]

    OGM
     
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