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BY CATHY SCOTT
Enough is enough!
That's the message 50 officers with the Clark County School District Police
Department told board members when they protested at a Sept. 28
standing-room-only meeting that overflowed into the lobby.
Four days later, the increasing use of weapons and violence officers warned
about happened again: A dropout, who police said was 15 and had been expelled
from school, walked onto the Mojave High School campus with a loaded pistol and,
according to two maintenance workers, a rifle.
As a result, at least four schools were locked down throughout that morning as
the neighborhood around the school was searched. But police did not find the boy
that day.
"They're still looking for an AK-47 he stole from his parents' house," said
school police Sgt. Phil Gervasi the day of the search.
Gervasi, who is also president of the school police officers union, said an
officer had gotten a tip from a student that the boy's friend was planning to
arrive on campus armed. Officers were ready for the youth when he stepped on to
the campus.
When the boy recognized the officers, Gervasi said, he dropped the loaded
.25-caliber pistol and fled. After three hours, the search in the neighborhood
was called off -- but the schools were still locked down for a couple more
hours.
For one parent, locking down the schools didn't solve the problem. The district
needs more security, Brian Walsh said. "If they're so concerned about our kids,
then how come I haven't seen one police car at this school in 30 minutes?" he
asked as he stood outside Mojave High. "This is ridiculous."
Another parent, Lisa Frye, said she felt as if the students were being held
captive and the gunman could be in the school with them. "Our children are stuck
inside," she said. "We don't know what's going on. We don't know if they're
safe."
The growing number of weapons confiscated from students has been an increasing
issue in Clark County, the fifth largest school district in the country with
about 300,000 students enrolled at its 325 schools. At the school board meeting,
police officers complained about exactly that.
"The safety of our children is the primary concern for us," said Darrell Wade,
president of the Henderson Police Department Officers Association. Wade attended
the meeting with a handful of fellow union officers from area police
departments, in what he called a show of solidarity, and has both children and
grandchildren in the school district. "There's nothing more important."
Gervasi told board members that in his 14 years with the police department, the
first 20 days of this school year were unprecedented. "I have never seen this in
my 14 years here," he said. "This is getting out of hand. What are you going to
do about the safety of our schools?"
More officers are needed, he said, otherwise the problem will escalate.
Twenty-four positions are open because officers have left for other departments,
where the pay is higher.
"I could have gone to other departments, but I chose this department," said
school police officer Ronald Johnson. "I like working with kids, and I have
three kids in the district. I want to keep it safe for them."
Officer Michael Thomas told board members, "I saw a poster today that said it
takes a village to raise a child. What happens when that village isn't safe?"
Even without the number of officers needed on each campus, the current police
force of 132 is able to prevent violence. An example was a handgun Officer James
Bernosky was able to take from a student without incident. It was the first gun
confiscated from a student this school year.
"It was a Glock, a .40-caliber, the same gun I carry," Bernosky told the board.
"The student is a known gang member." If he hadn't known the student and the
student hadn't trusted him, the outcome could have been different, he said.
Detective Andy Garza, an investigator with the department, said two detectives
covering the school district is insufficient. "We need double that just to get
caught up," he said.
Because the issue was not on the board's agenda that night, members said, they
couldn't act on the issue. "Then I would ask you to put it on the agenda as
quickly as possible," Gervasi told the board.
In the meantime, the violence continues to worry officers. In one case, during
the first three weeks of school, shots were fired at a bus carrying high-school
students. No one was injured. In another act of violence, two students were
stabbed by a fellow student at a middle school as they left the campus for home.
School police arrested the suspect, recovered the weapon and the victims were
treated at a local hospital, Gervasi said.
"We cannot wait until a child becomes a fatality," he said.
Cathy Scott is a local author and journalist.
