Clayton County school officials responded to a recent rash of weapons on campus with a surprise sweep Wednesday of a half-dozen high schools using weapons-and-drug-sniffing dogs.
Wednesday’s haul netted no guns or other weapons but it did produce enough weed to ruin one Mundy’s Mill High School student’s day - if not school year. Dogs found a plastic bowl containing more than an ounce of marijuana - a felony - in a locker at Mundy’s Mill. (The contraband was found in one student’s locker but another student admitted to putting it there. That student has been arrested and most likely will be prosecuted.)
In a separate but related matter, a dozen tiny bags of marijuana were found in a hallway at Charles Drew High School after word got out the dogs were on campus. It’s unclear who it belonged to but officials say school surveillance cameras should help root out the culprit.
Wednesday’s operation had been in the works for about a couple of weeks and drew cooperation from nine canines, the Clayton County police, the Atlanta police department as well as the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms division who stepped in to help the school system’s new police force.
All in all, it proved to be “a good day” for the head of security at the 52,000-student school district who has spent the last month dealing with a a string of weapons-on-campus incidents.
“It turned out really well,” said Chief Clarence Cox, a 33-year law enforcer who was among the first members of Georgia’s Homeland Security Taskforce. Cox has had his hands full since Feb. 28 when a loaded 9-millimeter gun was found at Riverdale High School. That discovery was the first of about a half-dozen gun-related incidents to follow - several of the incidents were reported to officials by students.
Since late February, the district has had five gun-related incidents that produced three real guns and several fake or toy guns.
“It’s frustrating because you’ve got good kids. I’m a firm believer kids can’t learn if they’re afraid,” Cox said. “We’re going to provide a safe learning environment for our students.”
Superintendent Luvenia Jackson said Wednesday the sweeps are necessary.
“The business of the school district is to educate and provide a safe environment. It’s not a police state or trying to criminalize children,” she said. ” (But) When students bring guns, weapons to school we have to take action to eliminate the problem.”
Wednesday’s sweep of seven of the county’s nine high schools was the first use of weapons-detecting dogs. It has been a least a half-dozen years since the district has used drug-sniffing dogs, Cox said. And folks better get used to it.
“This is something we’re going to be doing on a regular basis,” he said.
The sweep is in conjunction with a flurry of recorded-messages and letters from the school district that have gone out in recent weeks in response to the rash of guns popping up in and around schools in Clayton and other districts. County officials such as Commission Chairman Jeff Turner are slated to record their own messages in coming weeks to help try to weed out the problem and work on fixing Clayton’s image.
Some parents and students welcome the unannounced sweep.
“I think it’s a great idea. If it’s going to keep out violence and protect the children, I’m all for it,” said Riverdale resident Tammy Mitchell, whose daughter is a senior at North Clayton High School, one of the schools visited Wednesday.
The visits drew curiosity and squeals of surprise from students and in some cases fear - one girl screamed because she’s afraid of dogs - as Glow, a seven-year-old chocolate Labrador with the ATF Atlanta, sniffed her way through lockers, gym lockers and hallways looking for traces of smokeless powder - a telltale sign a gun is present.
Several Drew High School students praised the security at their school and said the student resource officers take their jobs seriously.
“I feel pretty safe knowing the officers have my back,” said Shun Gayden, a 16-year-old junior. “I feel confident telling them if I see something out of order.”
“We know we’re protected at all times. They treat us like we’re their own kids,” senior Mark Hawkins said. “I have concerns about outside the school.”
Pedro Llamas said he stays busy with extracurricular activities to “keep away from drugs” and negative behavior.
Senior Robert Vrbic said part of the problem may stem from the lack of maturity of some students who think it’s cool to bring a weapon to school. Others may do it out of fear.
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