LAUSD parents demand return of school police as Franklin High mourns student
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Set us as preferred Reigniting a long-simmering debate about police patrols at Los Angeles Unified schools, a group of parents on Wednesday called for officers to be returned to campuses after a student was attacked at Franklin High School and died after falling over a fourth-floor railing.Parents voiced deep concerns about bullying and what they see as a lack of security at their children’s schools, shaken by the tragedy at Franklin High in Highland Park that has prompted an outpouring of support for the family of the student who died and calls for stepped-up safety measures district-wide.
“We want police inside the schools,” Diana Guillen, who leads an LAUSD parents group focused on school safety, said at a news conference.The Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office has identified the student who fell as Xavier Nungaray-Martinez, 17, and determined he died by suicide.
Officials have not released details about what preceded the fall.In cellphone video footage, one student repeatedly hits a student who is on the ground.
A teacher stands between the students, and the boy on the ground slowly gets up.The student who beat the other backs off, giving him a shove as he does.
The boy who was hit turns away.Then, the attacker delivers one more punch that knocks the boy to the floor.
The boy gets up and runs out the door, with the attacking student shouting at him to “run” using a racial slur.In another video, the boy who was hit, identified by community members as Xavier, jumps over a fourth-floor railing as the student who appears to be the attacker approaches.In a statement Wednesday, the Los Angeles Police Department said they are investigating allegations that “bullying may have contributed to the student’s death,” but so far have not identified evidence establishing a connection.
“The investigation ...