CHANDLER, Arizona — A Queen Creek police sergeant investigating a school resource officer’s handling of teacher misconduct claims concluded the SRO was not properly notified by school staff of the allegations.
As 12News reported last week, an East Valley family is demanding the Chandler Unified School Board examine why administrators at Casteel High School did not file a police report against a teacher accused by seven girls of making unwanted physical contact with them in 2021.
The district tells 12News Casteel administrators collaborated with the campus SRO and determined the student claims did not warrant an official investigation.
“Officer Lines did not know the allegations.”
An email written by Queen Creek Police Sergeant Renee Klix, obtained by 12News, supports the conclusion from another law enforcement agency, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, stating that the SRO was not privy to details of the claim as the school district alleges.
However, the email states the SRO was present in a February 11, 2021, meeting in which at least one claim against the teacher was verbally mentioned.
“I recently completed the follow-up after obtaining the full MCSO report as well as speaking with Officer Lines, the Principal and Assistant Superintendent,” wrote Klix in a November 2022 email.
“I was able to pinpoint that Officer Lines was in the meeting with staff on the 11th (Feb. 11th, 2021); however, they did not disclose specific details of the allegations to include any names.”
Klix writes that “a general statement of a complaint” by one student against a teacher was mentioned during the meeting.
“The facts of the investigation showed that Officer Lines did not know the allegations. Any indications that Officer Lines knew the allegations and failed to file a report is untrue and did not occur,” Klix wrote.
Seven girls alleged Power made unwanted physical contact
To what extent the district made the SRO aware of the allegations is important because the nature of the complaints would have warranted a police report, according to one national expert.
“What you’re describing, the scenario you’re laying out can move from misconduct to potential criminal behavior,” said Mo Canady, Executive Director of the National Association of School Resource Officers. “Can there can be an investigation that ensues and interviews be done? Yes. Can it be the SRO that does it? It really depends on the individual department.”
The SRO was a sworn deputy for MCSO at the time.
According to an MCSO spokesperson, its SROs would be expected to gather preliminary statements and submit a written report to a supervisor.
According to school records, five junior high-aged girls accused theatre teacher Patrick Power of allegations of unwanted hugging and touching on their arms, back, waist and hips.
Assistant Principal Ryan Ridenour led the school’s investigation over 2-3 days, according to school records. Ridenour issued a reprimand letter to Power.
That was not enough, say the parents of one of the girls who made the allegations at the time. The school transferred at least one girl to another class and made her feel she was to blame, the girl’s father alleges.
The following month, two more girls complained about Power. He resigned the same day.
Administrators followed all district policies and laws, a district spokesperson told 12News.
SROs should be the first contact
According to Canady, the SRO should be considered the first contact by mandated reporters for reporting an alleged crime. Canady said it’s also important SROs maintain their role as law enforcement officials first while also being embedded on a school campus.
“We recognize that sometimes if we’re not careful the lines can get blurred here. Even if we are careful there can be some gray issues,” Canady said.
The SRO working on the Casteel High School campus is extremely respected and meticulous in taking notes of incidents, said Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez, spokesperson for MCSO.
School records do not document what was discussed
The problem is that available records do not detail what school administrators allegedly told the SRO. In fact, an email that circulated among administrators about the scheduled meeting did not even include the SRO.
A representative of administrators in Arizona says documentation is vital when students make allegations.
“If you talk with law enforcement, document you had that conversation with the officer,” said Dr. Paul Tighe of the Arizona Administrators Association. “My advice in my years as superintendent is document, document, document. Write down in your notes what conversations were and be clear.”
Tighe added that this is a stressful time for schools right now. Involving law enforcement in a complaint usually means schools must place on leave the employee involved.
“It’s very tough when we have such a large staffing shortage in schools. But again, you can’t compromise the safety and the well-being of students and staff,” Tighe said.
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