Monthly Archives: August 2022

A 29-year-old man's confession to police that he killed and buried 18-year-old Zoe Campos seven years ago will be used against him at trial, a Lubbock judge ruled on Friday.

District Judge Douglas Freitag issued an order denying Carlos Rodriquez's request to throw out his 2018 confession to Lubbock homicide detectives.

Carlos Rodriquez is charged with murder in Campos' November 2013, death. The charge carried a punishment of five years to life in prison.

The order came after a hearing Thursday in the 140th District Court on Rodriguez's motion to suppress his confession.

A trial is tentatively set for Aug. 15 and his defense attorneys hoped to throw out that key piece of evidence, saying detectives used tactics that pressured their client into involuntarily confessing to killing Campos and helping authorities find her remains, which were buried at a home in south Lubbock where Rodriquez used to live.

They also argued that police used an informant at the jail to elicit incriminating information from Rodriquez, violating his fourth amendment right.

Campos was initially reported missing on Nov. 19, 2013. Five years later, Lubbock homicide detectives found her remains buried in the backyard of a home in the 1900 block of 70th Street, which police visited multiple times over the years during their search for Campos.

About a week after her disappearance, police found her vehicle, a 1997 silver Lincoln Town Ca,r abandoned at an apartment complex in the 5500 block of Utica Avenue. Police found her jacket and phone charger in the trunk of the vehicle.

Meanwhile, Rodriquez was a person of interest in the case as investigators learned he may have been the last person to see Campos alive.

During a Nov. 19, 2018 interview with Lubbock police, police say Rodriquez admitted to killing Campos. He said he strangled Campos to death then buried her body in the backyard of his home at the time. He later led detectives to the spot where her remains were found.

On July 12, Rodriquez's defense attorney filed a motion to suppress his confession, saying detectives ignored his request for an attorney in prior interviews, unfairly pressuring him to ultimately confess to killing Campos.

By December 2017, the case had been handed to a third detective, David Schreiber, who wanted to speak with Rodriquez about Campo's disappearance.

Rodriquez was being held at the Lubbock County Detention Center on an unrelated count of stalking when Schreiber and Lubbock police Sgt. Brandon Price spoke with him on Dec. 5, 2017.

The detectives brought Rodriquez from the jail to police headquarters for an interview that spanned more than two hours. The detectives told Rodriquez that they knew Campos was dead and that she was killed at his previous residence. However, at the time, police had no evidence to corroborate that.

They also told Rodriquez his DNA was found inside Campo's jacket.

However, none of the detectives asked Rodriquez directly about his involvement. Instead, they pressured him into confessing, saying they believed his criminal behavior was increasing because he was haunted by his role in Campos' death. They told him confessing to what he did would end the cycle that brought him in and out of jail.

Rodriquez didn't confess. Instead, he told detectives that "every time I try to talk about anything that happened that night ... I always want to like ... talk to an attorney about it so I know where I am at legally. I need to know if it is intentional or whatever ... It's not easy talking without knowing what is going to happen."

Rodriquez's attorney Jeff Nicholson said his client's statement was an obvious request for an attorney. Instead, the detectives shifted their questions to another topic.

It wasn't until Rodriquez verbally stated he wanted an attorney that the detectives ended the interview.

Schreiber and Price disagreed.

The detectives told the court during Thursday's hearing that they met with Rodriquez to set a tone by letting him believe they had more information about his involvement with Campos' disappearance than they had at the time.

They said Rodriquez didn't expressly request for an attorney when he said he wanted legal advice and kept speaking.

Price told the court that he didn't believe Rodriquez was specifically asking for an attorney when he said he wanted legal advice. He said he's seen suspects seek legal advice from family members.

"He could be wanting to call his uncle," Price said. "Sometimes they talk to their mothers ... and their mothers say, 'I think you should tell the truth.'"

Detectives wouldn't speak with Rodriquez until 11 months later. Meanwhile, a confidential witness being held at the jail called law enforcement in July 2018 saying he had information that Rodriquez killed and buried Campos but was adamant that he would only give it in exchange for a favorable deal on his own case.

Records showed the informant relented and provided the information without a deal.

Nicholson argued that records that were available to him showed the informant's change of heart was suspicious because a recording of the interview indicated the informant and Price got into a heated argument about the offer.

Moreover, the informant didn't become an official confidential informant, which would conceal his identity in court records, until the month his client made his confession.

Nicholson said the scenario reeked of a secret deal being struck for the informant to speak with his client as an agent of law enforcement.

Prosecutor Barron Slack told the court that the evidence showed the informant acted on his own, saying he already had the information from Rodriquez before he contacted law enforcement.

Slack said the Lubbock County District Attorney's office never approved a deal with the informant, nor was there any evidence that the police did either. He said the record showed detectives made it clear to the informant that he was not working for law enforcement.

In November 2018, Lubbock police had enough information to begin digging in the backyard of Rodriquez's former home to search for Campos' remains.

At some point, police found what they initially believed to be a human bone. Schreiber said he met Rodriquez a second time to confront him with the evidence. The interview ended quickly when Rodriquez asked for an attorney.

The bone was later identified as an animal bone, Schreiber said.

However, a week later, Rodriquez contacted jail officials saying he wanted to speak with Schreiber and confess to killing and burying Campos.

Slack played a portion of that third interview at the hearing. Rodriquez could be heard saying that he and Campos were at his home smoking synthetic marijuana and "freaked out on her" and started hitting her.

He said she was about to call the police when he strangled her and she passed out.

"I think she was already dead," he could be heard saying.

He later led police to the spot where Campos' remains were found.

Nicholson argued that his client's confession was a culmination of the detectives' unfair tactics that began in the interview 11 months prior when they ignored his client's initial request for an attorney.

"It's a snowball effect," he said. "He gets more nervous and nervous... Once a person is denied counsel they sit around for 11 months, they get desperate and they sit around doing something foolish."

He said detectives knew that his client was requesting an attorney when he said he wanted legal advice.

"He just didn't say the right word," Nicholson said. "There's no law that he has to say the word 'attorney.'"

Slack argued that the record showed Rodriquez knew how to terminate that December interview because it ended when the defendant expressly asked for an attorney.

He said the detectives also weren't required to bring a lawyer to consult with Rodriquez.

The motion to suppress didn't address the July 2019 letter Rodriquez reportedly wrote to local media outlets in which he admits to Campos' killing, saying he acted while he was high on synthetic marijuana.

In the letter, Rodriquez said he carried the guilt and shame of Zoes killing for years. He apologized to Campos family and the community.

He said he believed the jail inmate to whom he confided betrayed him to the police. However, he said he is not mad at the inmate.

He did me a huge favor, he wrote.

Rodriquez wrote in detail the moment the drugs took over his senses, making him believe Campos had turned into a demon.

Though he admitted to killing Campos, he wrote that he was not a murderer and described his actions that night as reckless, which is a culpable mental state in manslaughter charges. Manslaughter is a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison.

Im not asking for a dismissal, he wrote. I just want a fair judgement and not to be labeled as a murderer, but as a 20-year-old kid who made a mistake because of K-2 playing a major factor.

However, voluntary intoxication is not a defense to a crime, though it may be used to mitigate punishment after a defendant is found guilty.

See more here:
Confession in Zoe Campos homicide to be admitted at trial - LubbockOnline.com

CITY COUNCILS

DEL MAR

The Del Mar City Council is scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. Wednesday to consider whether to continue remote meetings.

ENCINITAS

The Encinitas City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday for a public hearing on an appeal of the Planning Commissions approval of the Marea Village development, a multifamily residential and mixed-use development comprising 94 residential apartments within four buildings, a two-level underground parking structure, four mixed-use buildings, two commercial buildings and a 34-room hotel.

ESCONDIDO

The Escondido City Council will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday to discuss creation of a business activity district along Grand Avenue from Centre City Parkway to South Juniper Street, with a speed limit of 25 mph. The council will also continue a discussion of a term-limits ballot measure, and one regarding the pay of the city treasurer, and whether the position should be elected or appointed.

OCEANSIDE

The Oceanside City Council will meet in closed session at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday to discuss labor negotiations, litigation and personnel. In open session at 5 p.m., the council will hold a hearing on revisions to the affordable housing density bonus section of the citys zoning ordinance, and an ordinance to establish a maximum density of 75 dwelling units per acre for mixed-use projects in the Downtown District.

VISTA

The Vista City Council will meet in closed session at 3 p.m. Tuesday to discuss litigation and personnel. In open session at 5:30 p.m., the council will hold a hearing on whether to grant a special operating permit for a single-room occupancy hotel at 330 Mar Vista Drive. The council will also consider a commercial cannabis cultivation social equity program; the use of chemicals and pesticides in city parks and streets; and resources and services for unsheltered veterans.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

CARLSBAD

The Carlsbad Unified School District board will meet in closed session at 5 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the superintendents evaluation.

FALLBROOK

The Fallbrook Union High School District board will meet in closed session at 4:30 p.m. Monday to discuss personnel, litigation and labor negotiations. In open session at 5:30 p.m., the board will review its 2022-23 COVID-19 guidance checklist and safety plan.

OCEANSIDE

The Oceanside Unified School District board will meet in closed session at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday to discuss labor negotiations and personnel. In open session at 6 p.m., the board will hear a presentation on its Equity Audit findings and recommendations.

POWAY

The Poway Unified School District board is scheduled to meet in closed session at 6 p.m. Thursday and in regular session afterward.

RAMONA

The Ramona Unified School District board is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. Thursday.

SAN MARCOS

The San Marcos Unified School District board is scheduled to meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

SAN PASQUAL

The San Pasqual Union School District board will meet in closed session at 5 p.m. Tuesday to discuss personnel. In open session at 5:30 p.m., the board will discuss the designation of Christine English to serve as administrative designee in the absence of the assistant principal and/or the superintendent/principal.

SOLANA BEACH

The Solana Beach School District board will meet in closed session at 5:15 p.m. Thursday to discuss litigation and threat to public services or facilities. At 6:30 p.m. in open session, the board will consider approval of the fourth amendment to Superintendent Jodee Brentlingers contract, extending it through June 30, 2026, at a pay rate of $240,500 effective July 1, 2022.

VALLECITOS/RAINBOW

The Vallecitos School District board will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday to discuss approval of a contract with Gary Wilson for his services as interim superintendent through Nov. 1, replacing Superintendent Dr. Maritza Koeppen, who resigned as of Aug. 5.

VALLEY CENTER-PAUMA

The Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District board is scheduled to meet in closed session at 5 p.m. Thursday.

VISTA

The Vista Unified School District board is scheduled to meet in closed session at 5 p.m. Thursday and in open session at 6 p.m.

See the rest here:
On the agenda, Aug. 7 - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

Second Amendment to Sixth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement

On July 29, 2022, Kite Realty Group Trust, a Maryland real estate investmenttrust ("Kite Realty"), and Kite Realty Group, L.P., a Delaware limitedpartnership and the operating partnership of Kite Realty (the "OperatingPartnership"), entered into the Second Amendment (the "Second Amendment") to theCredit Agreement (as defined below) with KeyBank National Association("KeyBank"), as administrative agent, and the lenders party thereto. The SecondAmendment amends that certain Sixth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, datedas of July 8, 2021 (as amended by the First Amendment to the Sixth Amended andRestated Credit Agreement dated as of October 22, 2021, the "Existing CreditAgreement," and the Existing Credit Agreement as amended by the SecondAmendment, the "Amended Credit Agreement"), among the Operating Partnership (assuccessor by merger to Retail Properties of America, Inc. ("RPAI")), asborrower, KeyBank, as administrative agent, and the lenders from time to timeparty thereto.

The Second Amendment provides for, among other things, (i) an increase in therevolving commitments under the Existing Credit Agreement (the "RevolvingFacility") from $850 million to $1.1 billion, together with the replacement ofLIBOR with adjusted SOFR as the interest reference rate for loans under theRevolving Facility, (ii) a new senior unsecured term loan in an aggregateprincipal amount of $300 million (the "New Term Loan"), which New Term Loan (x)has a scheduled maturity date of July 29, 2029 and (y) accrues interest at arate per annum equal to adjusted SOFR plus a margin that ranges from 1.15% to2.20% depending on the Operating Partnership's credit rating, with the potentialto reduce the otherwise applicable interest rate margin by one basis point ifcertain greenhouse gas emission reduction targets are achieved, and (iii)certain other amendments set forth therein. A portion of the proceeds of the NewTerm Loan were applied to repay the Operating Partnership's existing $200million senior unsecured term loan that was scheduled to mature on November 22,2023.

Under the Amended Credit Agreement, the Operating Partnership has the option toincrease the Revolving Facility and/or incur additional terms loans by up to anadditional $600 million, for an aggregate committed amount of up to $2.0billion, subject to certain conditions, including obtaining commitments from anyone or more lenders, whether or not currently party to the Credit Agreement, toprovide such increased amounts.

The covenants contained in the Amended Credit Agreement are substantially thesame as under the Existing Credit Agreement, except that, among othermodifications, each of (x) the maximum leverage ratio of 60% and (y) the maximumratio of unsecured debt to the value of a pool of unencumbered properties of 60%were amended to allow such ratios to increase to 65% during the quarter in whicha material acquisition occurs and the three immediately following fiscalquarters (as opposed to the quarter in which a material acquisition occurs andone subsequent fiscal quarter as provided in the Existing Credit Agreement).

The forgoing summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in itsentirety by reference to the full text of the Second Amendment, which is filedas Exhibit 10.1 hereto and is incorporated herein by reference.

Fourth Amendment to Term Loan Agreement

On July 29, 2022, Kite Realty and the Operating Partnership entered into theFourth Amendment (the "Fourth Amendment") to the Term Loan Agreement (as definedbelow) with KeyBank, as administrative agent, and the lenders party thereto. TheFourth Amendment amends that certain Term Loan Agreement, dated as of July 17,2019 (as amended by the First Amendment to Term Loan Agreement, dated as of May4, 2020, the Second Amendment to Term Loan Agreement, dated as of July 19, 2021,the Third Amendment to Term Loan Agreement, dated as of October 22, 2021 and theFourth Amendment, the "Amended Term Loan Agreement"), by and among the OperatingPartnership (as successor by merger to RPAI), as borrower, KeyBank, asadministrative agent, and the lenders from time to time party thereto, whichprovides for (i) a $120 million unsecured term loan with a scheduled maturitydate of July 17, 2024 and (ii) a $150 million unsecured term loan with ascheduled maturity date of July 17, 2026.

The Fourth Amendment provides for, among other things, (i) the replacement ofLIBOR with adjusted SOFR as the interest reference rate for all loans under theAmended Term Loan Agreement and (ii) certain other amendments and modificationsto conform to the terms of the Amended Credit Agreement.

The forgoing summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in itsentirety by reference to the full text of the Fourth Amendment, which is filedas Exhibit 10.2 hereto and is incorporated herein by reference.

Certain of the lenders under the Credit Agreement and Term Loan Agreement ortheir affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, certaincommercial banking, financial advisory, and investment banking services in theordinary course of business for Kite Realty, its subsidiaries and certain of itsaffiliates for which they receive customary fees and commissions.

Item 1.02 Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement.

In connection with the incurrence of the New Term Loan, the OperatingPartnership repaid in full its $200 million senior unsecured term loan that wasscheduled to mature on November 22, 2023 provided pursuant to that certain TermLoan Agreement, dated as of November 22, 2016, by and among the OperatingPartnership (as successor by merger to RPAI), Capital One, National Association,as administrative agent, and the lenders party thereto. In connection with suchtermination, the Springing Guaranty, dated as of October 22, 2021, by KiteRealty in favor of the lenders under such term loan facility was alsoterminated.

Item 2.03 Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an

The disclosure in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K is incorporatedherein by reference.

Exhibit No. Description

* Pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K, certain schedules and exhibitshave been omitted. The registrants hereby agree to furnish a copy of any omittedschedule or exhibit to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") uponrequest by the SEC.

Edgar Online, source Glimpses

View post:
KITE REALTY GROUP TRUST : Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement, Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement, Creation of a Direct Financial...

from the 5th:-we-would-do-anything-for-cop-love-but-we-won't-do-this dept

Yikes.

Deputy Boyd stayed for approximately two hours, during which time he made numerous inappropriate sexual statements and commands, which the district court found were neither invited nor consensual. For example, Deputy Boyd told Tyson that he and fellow officers had recently seen her at a restaurant, and he repeated sexual comments that the officers made about her body. For example, he said that the officers talked about what they would like to do to [her] if they could. He also compared the size of Tysons breasts with his wifes breasts. He pressed her to answer invasive questions about her sex life, such as whether she and her husband would consider a threesome and whether her husband would allow someone to watch them having sex. And he asked for nude pictures of her husband.

At some point, Deputy Boyd received a phone call from his wife, and he answered it on speakerphone without notifying his wife. He told his wife that he was running errands. He then solicited nude photos from his wife and made sexually explicit comments.

Thats only part of the extremely disturbing narrative recounted by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision [PDF]. Theres a lot more. And a lot of background. All of it adds up to something even the cop-friendliest circuit in the nation cant condone.

And this circuit has done a lot of condoning. Perhaps its an effort to keep the peace decisions that wont antagonize Texas into seceding and becoming the cowboy-hatted North Korea of America. Or maybe its just the home-grown judges who tend to consider boots and badges to be indicative of being on the right side of the law, even if that means coming down on the wrong side of the Constitution.

But whats detailed here is too much even for the Fifth Circuit. It starts with a welfare check one Deputy David Boyd felt he should handle personally. Thats not where the evil starts. Its where Deputy Boyds evil merely continues.

On September 18, 2018, Wade Tyson called the Sheriffs Department of Sabine County, Texas, to request a welfare check on his wife, Melissa Tyson (Tyson). Wade reported that he was out of town and worried about his wife, who was home alone and distressed. Defendant Deputy David Boyd called Tyson that evening and told her that he would visit the next morning to conduct a welfare check. He introduced himself as a sheriff. He told her that he handled welfare checks because he was a preacher.1

Youll notice two things about this part of the narrative. First, the deputy was definitely not a sheriff. Perhaps he meant it colloquially but one can assume he expected Wade Tyson to believe he had all the authority he needed plus the authority he was borrowing from the actual sheriff to carry out this welfare check.

Youll also notice the 1, which refers to this footnote:

Deputy Boyds ministerial credentials had actually been revoked eleven years prior because of prohibited sexual conduct. During his time as a minister, he was also sued by church members for alleged sexual misconduct.

So, the deputy was not actually a preacher, as one would understand the term during a phone call. He was actually an accused sex offender who had apparently managed to stay unjailed because of his recent links to the church that booted him, as well as his current employer, which seemed unwilling to inform the public it employed a deputy who had been accused of and sued over sexual misconduct allegations.

The deputy began his visit by introducing himself as the sheriff. Then he hugged Mrs. Tyson, a completely uninvited move. He tried to move her inside but she stayed outside. He inquired about the presence of security cameras, either owned by Tyson or her neighbors. He made disparaging comments about her husband. He said she must be lonely without a man in the house.

What happened next follows my yikes intro. But it went on from there. The deputy noticed marijuana paraphernalia through the window of the house. He made references to swingers he had accosted about marijuana possession, noting that he cited some but let others go. Once this leverage was applied, the intensity of the deputys sexual assault of Tyson increased.

Tyson alleges that Deputy Boyd then sexually assaulted her on the porch of her home. He commanded her to expose her breasts and her vagina, and spread her labia to expose her clitoris. After a prolonged hesitation, Tyson complied. Deputy Boyd then masturbated to ejaculation in front of her. She closed her eyes and waited for him to finish, at which point he left.

It didnt end there. Even if it had, it would be more than enough. But Deputy Boyd decided mere porch-side sexual assault wasnt enough. He sent her text messages telling her he had seen her around town and wondering why she hadnt responded to earlier text messages.

Tyson, meanwhile, saw her life disintegrating. She began seeing multiple therapists in hopes of processing the sexual assault. She gained weight. Her relationship with her husband deteriorated. She installed cameras at her house, which she rarely left following being violated by the deputy.

She reported the assault to the Texas Rangers because she felt she could not trust local law enforcement, what with Deputy Boyd informing her that other officers had been openly discussing her sexual features.

This was not Deputy Boyds first rape rodeo. He was indicted in April 2019 for sexual assault, indecent exposure, and official oppression. Tyson filed her lawsuit during this same month, adding to the proven complaints about Boyd.

The deputy along with the county argued immunity should be awarded because, no matter how insanely awful Deputy Boyds personal actions were, no clearly established rights were violated. Somehow, the district court agreed. It ruled that Tyson had not been seized. Nor had she been imprisoned when she was sexually assaulted by the deputy.

The Appeals Court agrees with the lower court as far as a seizure under the Fourth Amendment is concerned. Latent threats about drug paraphernalia are not enough to support this claim, according to the judges. But thats not the end of the discussion.

If it had been nothing but that, the deputy would be free to rape another day. But he did more. And thats what crosses the line.

We have long recognized that physical sexual abuse by a state official violates the right to bodily integrity.

The Fourteenth Amendment is still in play. And holy shit did this deputy run it the fuck over in his quest to rub one out at the taxpayers expense.

Here, Deputy Boyd allegedly visited Tyson alone at her home under the pretense of a welfare check and coerced her to strip for his sexual gratification. He further ordered her to show him her clitoris while he masturbated to her exposed body. It is beyond dispute that no legitimate state interest can justify an officers use of coercion to compel the subject of a welfare check to expose her most private body parts for his sexual enjoyment. Nor does Deputy Boyd argue that any legitimate state interest could justify his instructions to Tyson to perform non-consensual sexual acts while he masturbated.

The court is not done excoriating Deputy Boyd and his disgusting abuse of power.

Moreover, this is not a case of recklessness, negligence, or overzealous policing. The record supports a premeditated intent to introduce sexual abuse into the welfare check because Deputy Boyd misrepresented to Tyson that he was on duty and searched the exterior of the home for cameras immediately upon arrival. [] Deputy Boyds alleged sexual abuse shocks the conscience andviolated Tysons right to bodily integrity.

Unbelievably, the deputy and the county argued this assault shouldnt shock the conscience because the deputy didnt drug, restrain, physically assault, beat, tase, shoot, bind, gag, or otherwise physically restrain Tyson during this encounter. The court says the means dont matter. Its what was done under the color of law, which, in and of itself, is often enough to secure compliance.

The use of mental coercion rather than physical coercion to effectuate sexual abuse is a distinction without a difference. Deputy Boyds use of coercion to compel Tyson to engage in physical sex acts against her will violated her right to bodily integrity.

And thats it for Deputy Boyd and the other defendants. The Fourth Amendment may not be implicated (but only narrowly) but the Fourteenth Amendment sure as fuck is. The defendants will get no immunity. The case goes back down to the lower court to address the obvious constitutional violations highlighted by the Appeals Court. And the now-indicted deputy has at least one civil case on top of his criminal case woes.

Filed Under: 14th amendment, 5th circuit, david boyd, melissa tyson, qualified immunity, sexual assault, sexual harassment

Read this article:
Fifth Circuit: This Badge Wearing Serial Sexual Assaulter Is Beyond Even Our Expansive Definition Of Qualified Immunity - Techdirt

Parmy OlsonBloomberg Opinion

Administrators at Oak Hill High School in Fayette County, West Virginia, are attuned to potential violence. If a student scrawls a threat on the bathroom wall about shooting someone, which happens in schools on occasion, staff will set up a mobile unit of metal detectors in the schools yellow-brick entranceway. Since April, though, the metal detectors have been replaced by slimmer-looking scanners that use ultra-low frequency magnetic fields to scan students bags and pockets for weapons.

The detectors, sold by a publicly traded security company in Waltham, Massachusetts, called Evolv Technology Holdings, use algorithms that have been trained to identify any kind of gun or knife. If the machines do spot something, they will draw a box around an image of the suspected student and alert school officials. The system costs about $30,000 a year to use, according to Gary Hough, superintendent of the Fayette County school district.

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Students flow straight through it, he said. They understand what they have to do.

In the wake of a steady increase of school shootings in the U.S., schools are eager to find ways to better protect their students, even as overall incidents of violence have dropped in the last two decades. But the steps they are taking risk reinforcing an unhealthy culture of surveillance without actually preventing violence.

Hardening is the lingo used by lawmakers and educators, who are adding metal detectors, armed security, high metal fences and bulletproof glass. And there is a lot of new technology available to buy: new types of weapons sensors, facial recognition software and even drones. Schools and colleges in the US spent an estimated $3.1 billion on security products in 2021, compared with $2.7 billion in 2017, according to Omdia, a market research company.

The result: Schools are morphing into high-security facilities that increasingly resemble prisons.

You can argue that educators dont have much choice. School shootings are becoming a fact of life and lawmakers have done little to limit access to guns. But among the huge volumes of literature on conducting risk assessments, there is little guidance on how schools should check that new surveillance tools are actually making a difference, researchers have said.

How does Oak Hill High measure the success of its new sensors? A lack of incidents, said Hough. The schools old metal detector setup was slow and caused long lines that snaked out onto the sidewalks. The lines not only made students late, but also left them vulnerable to a potential attack, Hough said. He added, I think success comes by making parents feel comfortable.

There is a trade-off to putting the grown-ups minds at ease. A 2016 study by Johns Hopkins University on school safety technology made a startling discovery. There was actually very little evidence that extra cameras and weapons scanners prevented violent events at schools, including mass shootings. There was also little indication that they helped mitigate those events.

A study in 2019 by researchers at New Mexico State University and the University of Toledo reached a similar conclusion. After looking at research and policies between 2000 and 2018, they found no empirical evidence that spending hundreds of millions of dollars on hardening schools lowered gun violence.

Both pointed to a common cycle: Horrific incidents spurred new funding with a short spending window, prompting schools to buy technology to show they were doing something, according to the Johns Hopkins study.

But there can be unintended consequences to doing something. A 2017 study by University of Florida Levin College of Law found that schools with higher proportions of Black students were more likely to rely on intense surveillance measures than did other schools, even when evidence suggested the extra safety concerns were unwarranted. That fuels a broader problem of Black students being punished more harshly than white students for similar offenses.

Increasingly intense surveillance at schools also sends a message to students that they are dangerous and prone to illegal activity, disrupting feelings of trust between students and the school, according to the University of Florida research. Instead of feeling safe, that study showed students felt a heightened sense of danger and disillusionment through constant passivity and compliance with the surveillance tech, further eroding students Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

A day after the Uvalde shooting, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held a news conference where he recommitted to the states hardening plans for schools that were passed in 2019, after another school shooting in Houston. Those plans provided $100 million in funding for extra CCTV cameras and bulletproof glass. But Abbott was praising a bill that had ultimately failed to stop the killing of 19 children and two adults last month.

Surveillance technology doesnt address the underlying cause of school shootings, and there is little evidence that it protects children from violence. But it does soothe adults nerves. Hough, the Fayette County superintendent, recalled an incident in April when someone posted on Instagram a threat to kill the school principal. News of the threat spread quickly among his students.

Normally that would have prompted about half the schools kids to stay at home on the request of their parents, he said. Not this time. Parents reminded one another on Facebook that the school had just installed Evolvs cutting-edge scanners. The next day, nearly all the schools 3,000 students turned up, according to Hough, who dismissed the notion that the scanners are a form of surveillance. It was a very normal day.

It is hard for schools to critically evaluate technologys impact on well-being something so difficult to measure outside of academic research especially when childrens lives appear to be at stake. But the price of hardening schools wont go away. Absent effective gun reform, surveillance of American children is becoming a fact of life, and their parents have little choice but to accept the consequences.

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See more here:
Mass surveillance and hardening schools won't solve mass shootings, by Parmy Olson - Press of Atlantic City