Crime & Safety

ACPS Superintendent: Toy Gun Incident Handled Appropriately

Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Morton Sherman along with the Alexandria Police Department and others discussed issues surrounding the arrest of a 10-year-old who brought a toy gun on a bus.

The Alexandria City Public School system acted appropriately with the information it had at the time when it heard a 10-year-old boy may have brought a gun onto a school bus, Superintendent Morton Sherman said.

Speaking at a Tuesday evening event hosted by the Alexandria branch of the NAACP, which criticized the arrest of the Douglas MacArthur Elementary School student, Sherman said he believed a referral should have been made to the Alexandria Police Department regarding the incident.

• See: NAACP Criticizes Arrest of MacArthur Student for Toy Gun Incident

Find out what's happening in Old Town Alexandriawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I’m not sure from the school point of view that we acted inappropriately,” he told the audience sitting in the bleachers of the Charles Houston Recreation Center gymnasium.

Sherman spoke on a panel with representatives from the police department, court services, state legislature and the NAACP.

Find out what's happening in Old Town Alexandriawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He explained that a school principal or assistant principal facing a similar incident would call Central Office, which would then call the police.

“Police have made clear that if there’s any question, call the police,” Sherman said.

If there’s a question of a gun or an innuendo of a gun, that’s a police matter, according to Sherman.

The student was ultimately determined to have been carrying a plastic, toy gun with an orange tip.

See: MacArthur Student Handed Weapons Charge Following Toy Gun Incident

The superintendent also told the audience a handbook is given to students and parents at the beginning of the school year explaining rights and responsibilities in Spanish and English.

Panelists were careful to explain that they could not speak directly about a specific case, but could answer broader, policy issues.

The boy’s mother has criticized the handling of the case.

See: Mother of ACPS Student Arrested for Toy Gun Incident Criticizes Case’s Handling

Deputy Police Chief Blaine Corle said the decision to make an arrest, refer the case to court services or to conduct an investigation “rests with the police department.”

Corle responded to an audience member’s question asking about police policy on handcuffing students.

He said the written policy outlines that when you take someone into custody they are to be searched and handcuffed.

“We are an operation that has to have rules,” he said, but added that police officers have a tremendous amount of discretion.

“We have to provide them with guidelines but we don’t take away from their common sense and discretion,” he said. “We expect safety is the overriding concern.”

Corle said the department is going to “more closely examine” how to treat some cases “particularly when there’s a case involving a young child.”

See: Charge Dropped Against MacArthur Student Arrested for Incident Involving a Toy Gun

Court Services Director Ron Lemley said it’s important that the public receive information about such incidents, but the juvenile code is specific and much of the information is protected by law.

State Del. Rob Krupicka (D-45th) said he has confidence in Alexandria’s police department and its schools, noting that he has two daughters who attend ACPS.

“Part of safety means… dangerous weapons aren’t available and in our schools. We need to make sure we’re showing good judgment,” he said. “I feel strongly that guns don’t have a place in our schools unless they are on the side of a police officer.”

The generally calm meeting took a different turn at the end when an audience member called the event a “sham,” saying NAACP legal adviser Howard Woodson unfairly screened her questions and refused to have them answered.

She told Patch she asked on her cards why the superintendent doesn’t resign and about issues surrounding a 2009 court case involving ACPS.

NAACP member Randy Stephens told Patch after the meeting that he was pleased with the direction that the superintendent is taking the schools and his efforts to promote racial equality by taking actions such as creating an Office of Equity and Cultural Competence.

ACPS Wednesday afternoon announced a community meeting with the school system and the Alexandria Police Department on school safety and security. It is scheduled for 7 p.m. March 19 at T.C. Williams High School.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.