Transient roamed onto school scaring children during pick up –
FROM NEXTDOOR NEIGHBOR SUNNY HILLS
Another unwanted, unwelcomed transient who appeared very inebriated or mentally unstable set foot on campus screaming at the children that he had a taser and was part of Fullerton PD. Teachers and principals lead him off campus and called the police who arrived quickly as he was walking along the middle of Laguna Road holding an object and profusely drooling. He ran off and they chased him, didn’t see how it ended but pretty sure they got a handle. So scary.
1d ago · 24 neighborhoods in Crime & Safety
Kim Wyse, ·
Schools need to have closed campuses Full fencing with access only through the main office. My grandchilds school is secured this way. It is an adjustment that takes getting use to but it is so much safer
No were not there yet. This makes me sick that it comes to this way of dealing with a few weirdo’s Be aware of all your surroundings. Pay attention..They are few and we are many. Do you really want to raise your kids like this? Your putting fear into our kids…This is what other countries want us to do..
Angela Jones, ·
I agree, I’d rather not have all of our schools and students fenced in completely. This is a very rare occurence, and I’ve been at the school since 2008. The school has a comprehensive plan for keeping students safe at school. They have really ramped up safety measures in recent years, including keeping doors locked so people can’t enter from the outside. The kids are taught how to be safe and not to answer the door in certain situations. Also, there are a number of parent and staff monitors, who watch the campus. They are so vigilant that they will send parents to sign in at the office if you don’t have a visitor or volunteer sticker visible. In this case, the incident happened right at dismissal time so people were preparing to go home. Teachers and the principal had the situation well under control and there were a lot of people around at the time. This doesn’t mean the the incident wasn’t scary, but the principal, teachers and staff were right on top of it.
i wonder if it was the same guy that was yelling at car that drove down euclid this morning…it probably wasn’t, but, it could have been…all i thought was how a person on this site commentes on a post that fullerton is known for being soft on homelessness.
Or was it the nutty guy that’s been in the middle of the intersection of Harbor and Bastanchury for a few weeks now? That’s right around the corner from Laguna Road school.
Melody Tice, ·
Ever since Kelly Thomas I feel like the fullerton pd just takes a hands off policy in dealing with the homeless. Don’t know what the solution is but I know that 15 years ago when I moved here there didn’t seem to be anywhere near the homeless population that’s here now.
Mike Pippin, ·
I’m waiting for someone before the end of the night who will proclaim he is not a transient but a possible homeowner who was once a boy scout, or perhaps a hobo advocate who will will proclaim that we are all just one paycheck away from being him and we should not judge, shame or blame, then there is old reliable of “The data is not in” and if we just paid a little more in taxes, these guys would be living in a beach front condo somewhere and given a 23 chance to turn it all around. I’m glad the kids are safe and the school is following a security minded protocol, kudos to the school administration and teachers. I have said many times, this is just the beginning, it’s all going to get a lot worse, big league. The cops had to deal with this guy today and someone is sure to criticize very quickly. They will transport him to a mental health facility and the staff will pump him full of psychotropics and kick him out the door. And so it goes…….. Everyone stay vigilant and stay safe. This incident today could have been real ugly. Peace out.
What school? Seems like an important detail that was left out.
“Who was once a boy scout.” Ironic.
Mrs. Lee, ·
This occured at Laguna Road Elementary. I was in the long line of cars waiting to go through the pick up line and I saw him walk right up to the front of school. I knew my daughter was on the other side of where he was standing so I attempted to jump out and then the principal acted very quickly and was able to make him go towards the parking lot away from the kids. This definitely concerns me on so many levels. Fences wouldn’t have helped in this case because it was dismissal, but this school campus is very easy to access on many sides. Although the staff is trained, they can’t possibly monitor access throughout the day. I think there needs to be a discussion about preventing access to the campus during school hours, and I plan on pursuing that. I am very grateful to the principal for making a point to be out there during dismissal and for escorting this individual quickly away from the kids.
Ann Stoddard, ·
In May I called the Laguna Road school office to report a man climbing up the cement water shed channel on the north side of campus along Morelia. I did not like his secretive movements and I knew he was not supposed to be there. Even though my kids aren’t there anymore I wasnt going to let him hang out up there.
Angela Jones, ·
True, teachers cannot monitor all day, hence the presence of specific people assigned to monitor during class & more specifically, during recess/lunch times. I know in other areas of the city, like near the armory, there are more secured campuses b/c the schools have to deal with more severe issues impacting campus safety. However, to be fair, you cannot readily access the school from “many” sides. Rather, the main access point is in the front of the school. There is a tall fence to the S (behind the bank and medical offices) and a tall fence all along Morelia to the west and then along Laguna Road to the N. There is a low fence along the E side of the school by a parent parking area and along the playground (which is behind more medical offices). However, this playground is a shared park area with the City of Fullerton Park System. If we lock it down completely, then we lose the only park that’s in walking distance for families in the area. There is no fence around the front of the school or driveway circle entrance. Recently, a tall fence was put in to the north of the playground, to limit access to the playground unless you enter from within the center of the campus. Also new secured gates and tall fences were put in around the Kinder playground. Certainly, someone could scale that low fence, but there are parent/staff monitors outside in that area whenever children are outside & the new safety protocols are intended to keep anyone from just walking into a classroom, if they happen to hop the fence. While, no measures are 100 percent secure, and things like this are unnerving esp. where our kids are concerned, that campus has so many people (adults) around at all times of the day that it’s not as easy as it may seem for people to just walk onto campus w/o being seen. Plus, the monitors are very strict – even if they know you – and require everyone to check in the front office. A review of policies is always helpful, especially to see if there are more things that can be done to make additional safety improvements. But, l hope all avenues are exhausted before we put tall fences all the way around the school, including across the front parking lot area.
Pretty sure that was the guy yelling that he was going to kill cops and had made a bomb threat/scare on Euclid by the DMV.
Tuan Phung, ·
Amanda, how long ago was that last incident? If he’s back on the streets again then he was most likely held 3 to 14 days during the initial episode, medicated, then released back into society. Once the meds wore off, he fell back into the cycle.
For those of you who may wish to stay updated about local crimes you can sign up for daily notices on www.SpotCrime.com. Every morning I receive a notice alerting me to crimes within a ten mile radius of my home, which is down the road from Laguna Rd School. Needless to say, yesterday’s incidence was listed, although specific details beyond “suspicious person,” “crime scene,” “transient issue,” “burglary”, etc are not included. And, every day I read about a transient issue or suspicious person report around the Harbor and Bastanchury area, whether its related to having CVS open for 24 hrs day, or having an urgent care facility across the street from the school. If you would like to receive notices check out their site at www.SpotCrime.com
Tuan, I believe it was the end of Aug… the 26th ish.
Tuan Phung, ·
Amanda, then the timing is about right given the allotted times for a mental health hold.
Melody Tice, ·
Carol thanks for that info. Very useful.
The picture is blurred, but this also looks like a man that was walking in front of Hermosa Elementary yesterday (Thursday) at 4:30pm. He didn’t say anything to the kids that were there waiting for pickup up, but he did look like he was intoxicated, not walking straight. No one said anything since we was on the sidewalk and not talking/bothering anyone
If he is also a child sex offender he may live nearby as the fullerton city council repealed a law my wife Susan and myself worked diligently in 2010 to get passed to keep pedophiles from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park, day-care center or nursery. The FPD who recommended its passage in 2010 was completely silent and went along with its repeal. What a city council and what a police department.
Mike Pippin, ·
Barry, what justification did Council use repeal?
The City Attorney represented by James Touchstone provided false information that our law, Ordinance NO 3149 codified at FMC No. 7150, that it covered all sex offenders in Fullerton. Touchstone stated to council that it restricted all sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, park or day-care center. It is curious that Touchstone got this wrong since he was responsible for the latest revision of the law back in 2014. But I then went before the council with Touchstone still present and our City Attorney, DIck Jones on the dais and read the pertinent parts of the law word for word that clearly stated that for purposes of our law a sex offender was someone who sexually abused children only. After i did this and then Touchstone came up again to refute my 100% truthful and accurate statement, Mayor Whitaker thanked him for setting the record straight and then they all then voted to repeal a good and constitutional law. The importance of who the law covered was that almost all laws throughout the state including the unenforceable Jessica’s Law (because it had no penalties) covered all sex offenders. In Fullerton we ensured that it only covered those who are a danger to live near children regularly gather, i.e. previously convicted pedophiles. A few Ca. courts had questioned the broadness of the 100% restriction against all sex offenders. Our law restricting only child sex offenders has to this day not been challenged in any California court. If Touchstone did not know he was wrong initially after I corrected him with the law, it was clear that the truth did not matter to our City Attorney, our Police Chief and our City Council who voted unanimously to repeal this very good law. A city government that refuses to protect its children is a city government that does not deserve our support! Now Mayor Whitaker wants to be our next State Senator. Tell Bruce Whitaker that his actions have been noted and that he will be held accountable by Fullerton voters made up of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles!
Melody Tice, ·
Barry you are absolutely right and I agree with you a hundred percent. I’m definitely going to start paying a lot more attention to those running for city council at the next election.
I hope this message gets out to all Fullertonians. It should be the nail in the coffin of the political career of Mayor Bruce Whitaker and the rest of our undistinguished city council members. By the way, Jennifer Fitzgerald had the nerve to say that she hated to vote to repeal the law. So my question to Fitzgerald is why then did she do precisely that! Also it is not well known that after Council member Fitzgerald made the most she could politically out of her not accepting any pay or benefits during her first term as our council member, she very quietly requested all pay and benefits shortly after her reelection ( in her case she gets $750 a month salary and another $100 a month in lieu of getting health benefits). Why has Ms. Fitzgerald not made a public statement telling all Fullertonians that she now is on the public dole and by so doing has made a complete 180 degree turn from her many prior public statements? How disingenuous to use her claim that she will not take any payments for her service because she believes public service should not include payment, yet now for her second term has very quietly accepted any and all financial benefits for her service. We truly have some very bad and disingenuous people representing us. I am still waiting for Greg Sebourn to take some action against the vendor/contractor and the city inspectors for the substandard job on the Hillcrest Park Stairs. He said in response to this fiasco being brought before the council in May or June of this year by a Fullerton citizen that he Sebourn would look into it and make sure Fullertonians are not holding the bag for additional costs. If we randomly chose any 5 Fullertonians to represent us, I believe the quality, the honesty and the integrity of our council would improve since we can’t do much worse than the current five people.
Mike Pippin, ·New
We must tolerate the government we elect and retain. It is no one’s fault but ours. I for one have no use for political hacks of any party. How about just electing City Council members who simply have an agenda of doing the right thing for our city? People who have backbone and the will to provide leadership, not a political ideology? Not windbags who follow the PC culture and try to be everything to everyone.
Mike I do not think our city council members are trying to be everything to everyone. That implies that they are trying to please everyone. Their aim is to fool everyone into thinking they care about us and our grand city. They only care about themselves and they prove that statement at just about every council meeting. As Park and Recreation Committee member for almost 6 years, (appointed by Bruce Whitaker twice) on a committee with a total of 7 members, I represented the people’s interest to the best of my ability. The result was that Whitaker removed me without giving me any reason in May 2016 and did not replace me with another committee member until the following year. He failed to give the citizens a full committee by having his seat vacant for 8 months. Is that the action of a council member who cares about his constituents? Like I said our representatives on the city council prove on a regular basis that they only care about themselves!
#1 by Belle on September 14, 2017 - 3:44 pm
What does this incident have to do with the unconstitutional residence ordinance that the Fullerton City Council wisely withdrew a few months ago?