Teen faces expulsion for knife found in car

The school resource officer is stepping up patrols in the parking lot.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LIBERTY -- An 18-year-old Liberty High School student is suspended and may face expulsion after police found a knife in his car while the vehicle was on school grounds.
According to police reports, the knife was found in the student's car Feb. 24, and a police report was filed Wednesday. The student has been suspended for 10 days and, reports say, school officials are considering expulsion.
According to police reports, the school resource officer at the high school noticed two male students sitting in a car parked in the east lot adding filling material to a cigar. The report did not specify what the material was.
The two students told the officer they were waiting for a third student to be let out of detention. The car belonged to the student in detention.
Reports say the officer, concerned about the activity with the cigar, asked to search the car and was given permission by one of the students. The officer found the folding knife in the glove box.
What was said
The student to whom the car belongs told officers the knife belonged to his grandfather. The student's grandfather told police he had found the knife on the floor of the car and put it back in the glove box.
Capt. Richard Tisone said the police department has not filed charges against the student and will likely allow the school to handle the matter through the expulsion process. He said the arrest by the school resource officer is indicative of an increased presence of law enforcement.
"We are going to continue to step up our enforcement," he said. "That is one of [the resource officer's] duties, to patrol the parking area on foot or in a cruiser and see what is going on."
Task force
A group of concerned parents, residents, school officials, students and law enforcement recently formed a task force to address several concerns including safety in the schools here. At the group's first meeting, Tisone said the school resource officer would be compiling a list of safety issues to be addressed at the high school. That list is still being compiled, he said.
The next meeting of the task force will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the high school community room.
jgoodwin@vindy.com