Latest news with #GlendaleUnionHighSchoolDistrict
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Yahoo
Glendale police learn to prioritize students over themselves in active shooter training
The Glendale Police Department hosted an active shooter training within Deer Valley High School to teach officers how to navigate an unfamiliar campus when a shooter threatens the safety of students. 'Every officer's got to be ready for this, especially our school resource officers and our patrol officers," said Glendale police Sgt. Trevor Goode, who led the training July 1. "They have to be ready to respond to this terrible situation that could occur." Glendale schools are not immune to gun violence. In 2016, two 15-year-old students were killed with a gun in a murder-suicide at Glendale Union High School District's Independence High School. All officers, sergeants and lieutenants in the Glendale Police Department are required to undergo active shooter training, but this was the first training many officers had conducted on school grounds, according to Officer Jude Soine. 'The last time we did training like this was years ago, shortly after Columbine," said Soine. "So it was totally different and slower-paced than what this is. This was much more aggressive." Unlike the Glendale Police Department's training facility, which officers know well, using Deer Valley High School for training allowed police officers to interact with an unfamiliar layout, much like they would in a real active shooter situation, Goode said. To recreate a realistic scenario, classroom doors were locked randomly, and hallways included trip hazards. At the beginning of some training scenarios, an officer would fire a weapon from somewhere within the school, and actors would scream for help and sprint from the scene. Officers would then try to locate the shooter using indicators, such as running crowds, gunshots, gunsmoke and shell casings. The training was supposed to evoke a high-risk, high-stress environment, Goode said. Officers were taught how to safely make their way down school hallways during a lockdown and enter a classroom potentially containing the shooter using a technique called 'the rabbit and the hero,' where an officer enters a room quickly to draw fire while a second officer trails them to take the shooter down. 'We have to be able and willing to drive into the threat to face that gunman down,' said Goode. 'I do want my officers coming in as fast as they can. I do want them to risk a lot to save a lot because there's kids in here that are completely innocent.' Throughout the training, Goode told officers that what was being taught was not the safest way to handle the situation, but the fastest, prioritizing the lives of students over their own, and that it may feel "foreign." 'When we respond to something, we're trained to keep ourselves safe, but also preserve life, protect property,' said Sgt. Moroni Mendez, a Glendale police spokesperson. 'But when we have an active killing, an active threat, that kind of goes out the window.' Prioritizing speed over officer safety is in large part a response to criticism of police response to past school shooter incidents, such as Uvalde, Texas, in 2022, where law enforcement officers faced criminal charges for failing to intervene promptly, according to Sgt. Brian Hoskin. In Uvalde, 19 elementary students and two teachers were killed. Nearly 80 minutes passed from the time the shooter began firing until he was killed by police. "We're training this so that people have it in the back of their minds just in case we ever have to come across this," said Hoskin. While the training was conducted within a school, the benefits translate to any populated area, Mendez said. 'It's really impactful," he said. "It has been for my career because it paints a vivid, clear and realistic picture of what I could potentially face when that threat is present at one of our schools, one of our malls, one of our public areas or spaces." Coverage of education solutions on and in The Arizona Republic is partially supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation's Arizona Community Collaborative Fund. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why police were training inside a Phoenix-area high school
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Yahoo
Phoenix high school teacher arrested in investigation of sex acts with students on campus
A Phoenix high school teacher was booked into jail on numerous child sex crime charges after authorities said he engaged in acts with multiple underage students that he also recorded. Court documents said officers arrested 43-year-old Eric Chapman after a social media service provider alerted Phoenix police that one of its subscribers had enticed a minor. Documents said police reviewed media preserved in Chapman's account April 15 that showed him engaging in sexual acts with a boy at the Cortez High School campus. Charging documents said that, after his arrest, Chapman admitted to having filmed sexual interactions with two current students and one former student that occurred on the school campus, in his classrooms, his coach locker room and inside his personal vehicle near their Phoenix homes. Chapman told police he met the three boys through adult dating apps and that he recognized them as his students. They were underage when they engaged in sexual acts, documents said. Documents added that Chapman also sent pictures and videos of himself masturbating. Charging documents said Chapman described multiple instances in which he performed various sexual acts with his students as recently as the first week of April and also admitted to having downloaded several hundred pictures and videos depicting sexual exploitation of children who were as young as 7. Chapman said he found the child sexual abuse material through the Tor browser, which allows users to navigate the dark web, documents said. Arrest documents said detectives interviewed one of the students, a 16-year-old boy, along with their parent, who admitted to having been in Chapman's vehicle behind a grocery store where Chapman 'wanted to do stuff' but declined to elaborate as he felt uncomfortable and wasn't ready to say more. A 17-year-old student declined to give a statement or participate in a police review. Documents said detectives also interviewed a 22-year-old student in northern Arizona who admitted to being sexually involved with Chapman when he was a 17-year-old student and acknowledged the relationship was inappropriate but continued to engage in sexual acts with Chapman and didn't wish to elaborate further. Police booked Chapman into jail on 11 felony counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and seven counts of sexual conduct with a minor for a total of 18 felony counts. He was held on a $250,000 cash-only bond. His next court hearing was scheduled for April 25 in Maricopa County Superior Court. Kim Mesquita, a spokesperson for the Glendale Union High School District, shared what the district sent to parents. 'We are writing to inform you that Cortez High School administration was notified by the Phoenix Police Department that one of our teachers was arrested on charges related to crimes against children. Upon learning of the allegations, school and district administration took immediate action. The teacher has been relieved of all duties," the notice read. "The Glendale Union High School District takes these matters seriously and works closely with law enforcement to support their investigations and ensure student safety. As this is an active police investigation, we are unable to share further details. Thank you for your continued partnership and support.' Reach the reporter Perry Vandell at or 602-444-2474. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @PerryVandell. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Police: Phoenix high school teacher recorded sex with minor students
