Wednesday, June 11, 2008

9 Milwaukee Public School Students Arrested

First, let me say that the Milwaukee Public School system has some bright, accomplished, hard-working students and some very talented, committed, hard-working faculty and staff.

Good things do happen at MPS.

Unfortunately, too often, violence reigns.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:


Nine Riverside University High School students were arrested and three Milwaukee police officers were taken to hospitals after a confrontation erupted between a group of students and officers near N. Oakland Ave. and E. Locust St. after dismissal Tuesday afternoon, a police spokeswoman said.

...[O]fficers were monitoring the area near the high school at dismissal because of a number of fights there recently, said Police Chief Edward Flynn.

According to Schwartz, Milwaukee Public School officials and a number of people who work near the intersection, a large group of students gathered in the area about 4 p.m.

A water balloon fight broke out near the intersection, said multiple people who work in the area and saw the confrontation.

A student threw a water bottle that either hit a police sergeant or a squad car, Flynn said.

When the sergeant approached the student, the student began “grappling” with him, drawing more than 50 students to the scuffle, Flynn said.

The sergeant and two other officers tried to handcuff the student. One officer was pushed to the ground and then kicked in the face by a student, suffering a broken nose, Flynn said.

The sergeant broke his hand, and another officer suffered serious cuts and scrapes to his arms, Flynn said.

Multiple officers provided backup.

One of the nine students who were arrested was Tasered, Schwartz said. The parent of a student was also arrested, she said.

“It was not a good scene, and I’m certainly concerned about it,” Flynn said afterward. “It’s just the start of summer, and people are going to find out that you can’t assault our police officers with impunity.”

...Flynn said he hopes the students are punished for their actions. The student accused of kicking an officer in the face could be charged with battery to an officer, a felony.

School officials will collect information about the incident and determine whether they can punish the students, even though the confrontation occurred off school grounds, said Roseann St. Aubin, an MPS spokeswoman.

“We just feel badly for these officers,” St. Aubin said. “It sounds as though there were some bad decisions made by some young people.”

What a bunch of out of control thugs!

What's especially scary is that these are the kids who go to school. These aren't the drop-outs. These are the ones getting an education, thanks to taxpayers.

Why would kids think it's a good idea to attack the police? What sort of high school kid kicks an officer in the face?

It seems clear to me that these kids have not been raised to respect the law.

Riverside University High School kids are responsible for this chaos. They've disgraced their school and themselves.


Remember, they are the city's future. Pretty bleak.

I wonder if the parents of the arrested kids are angry with their children or the police.


Will the kids involved be punished by their parents for their behavior? I doubt it. Certainly, the parent who was arrested at the scene was acting against the officers.

Hopefully, some parents of these kids are troubled by their children's role in the attack on the police; but we know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Pouring more and more tax dollars into the public schools won't transform the parents of these kids.


Even more frightening: Some of these high school kids involved in the disturbance may be parents themselves.

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