Changes to policy surrounding student interactions with police in Waukegan’s public schools will be reviewed as school officials and community members seek answers about the handling of the false arrest of freshman Martell Williams on Feb. 16 in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
The Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education reached a unanimous consensus to add the specific policy covering police interviews to a list of those currently under review, during a meeting Tuesday at the Lincoln Center administration building in Waukegan.
Board member Lucy Leguizamo made the suggestion for the review the night after Waukegan Interim Police Chief Keith Zupec announced arrests will no longer be made at any of the schools.
“I definitely wanted to start the conversation about (the policy on) reporting suspected criminal conduct and police interviews,” she said. “There is a section there on arrests and custody, and I’d like for that whole section to be reviewed or added onto.”
Leguizamo said she wanted the district’s policy to reflect the changes to Waukegan police department policy, which became effective Tuesday, banning arrests in schools and mandating a parent, guardian or attorney be present during any interrogation of a juvenile.
Nick Alatzakis, the district’s communications director, said in an email Wednesday the district welcomes the police department’s change in policy, and district officials look forward to working with the police as the school policy is revised.
“We think this is a positive, progressive step for the police department, and it’s something that is sensitive to children and the school district, while also being responsive to the community as a whole,” he said in the email.
Board President Brandon Ewing started the discussion about the handling of Williams’ arrest by school officials two weeks ago when he asked the administration to investigate and prepare a report whether current policy was followed by school officials during the incident.
“This disturbs me to my core,” he said at the Feb. 22 meeting. “One of our students was taken into police custody for a crime, and released after receiving information our student was at a basketball game at the time the incident was alleged to occur.”
Alatzakis said in the email the investigation Ewing requested was completed by Tuesday’s meeting and presented to the board during a closed session.
“The findings are being considered by the administration and final action is forthcoming,” he said in the email.
Though Alatzakis did not disclose the contents of the report, he said the current policy requires police to attempt to notify parents if they are not present during the arrest. The principal or another appropriate school official is also required to notify parents by phone and mail.
“Unfortunately, there was not timely communication with the parent by the district,” he said regarding the Williams arrest.
Before Leguizamo made her suggestion, six of the 10 people speaking during the public comment portion of the meeting wanted answers about the handling of arrest. They wanted assurances school officials will protect students in the future in similar situations and there will be accountability for any misconduct during Williams arrest.
Kevin O’Connor, the attorney for Williams and his family, said at the meeting schools have a responsibility to protect children in all situations because they become parental when the youngster enters the school building. It did not happen in Williams’ case, he said.
“Would you let your child be escorted into a principal’s office with police officers there, not knowing where they’re going (and) told they’re under arrest?” O’Connor said at the meeting. “The child asked the question, ‘Does my Mom know about this?’ and the answer to that is, ‘She’ll know soon enough.’ That was the answer he got. He was handcuffed immediately.”
O’Connor said in a text Wednesday a police officer said “she will know soon enough,” and the school official present during the arrest did not ask questions of the officers.
Williams was arrested Feb. 16 for attempted murder of a store clerk in Waukegan on Feb. 4. Though he was identified from a surveillance video, he was playing basketball as part of the Waukegan High School team at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire at the time of the shooting.
He was held in juvenile detention for two days before he was cleared of charges.
