Cop Rounds Up 32 Students Officer Assigned To High School Organizes Arrest Of Trespassers

The first tangible result of having a cop on campus at Lake City High School was the arrest of 32 students for trespassing next door.

The recent arrests resulted in at least two angry phone calls to school officials. Authorities said they hope they’ve taught a lesson they don’t have to repeat.

The students were hanging out during lunch on private property across the street from the school, a chronic problem that began when the new school opened last year.

Marilyn Cooper, who manages the 13-acre parcel, house and outbuildings for her parents, said decisive action against the trespassers was necessary.

“You have to stop it sometime, and I didn’t have a lot of success last year,” Cooper said Monday from the partially wooded, heavily littered property. “I’m sorry that it’s had to resort to this.”

Friday’s mass arrest was organized by Coeur d’Alene police Officer Christie Westlake, who is assigned to the school. This is the first year that the high schools have had police officers on campus.

Cooper called the school to complain on Wednesday. Westlake returned her call on Thursday and asked permission to go on the property.

On Friday, Westlake and seven other officers visited the site and rounded up 32 offenders, all high school students.

“They knew they weren’t supposed to be there,” Westlake said. “They ran. We didn’t have to chase them very far because they just ran into other police officers.”

The students were arrested and handcuffed. During pat-down searches of the students, two were found with marijuana and paraphernalia, and some were caught with cigarettes.

Two parents called high school Principal John Brumley to complain about treatment of the students. Police took the students to the juvenile detention center by a sheriff’s bus and van, and forced them to lie down, face first, when they became unmanageable, Westlake said.

“You can’t have them up and running around,” she explained.

Most of the students were cited and released to their parents. One had a warrant and was held at the juvenile detention center, Westlake said.

On Monday, evidence of illegal loitering remained in the wooded spot dotted with “No Trespassing” signs. Marlboro packages, Mountain Dew cans, school district drink cups and hot lunch containers littered the area.

Cooper said she hired a security guard for three months last year who once found two students having sexual intercourse in one of the outbuildings.

“Marilyn should not have to tolerate this as a property owner,” Westlake said.

Brumley said school administrators and the security guard hired by the school district last year would chase students off the property.

Having Westlake on campus means that law enforcement can coordinate a more effective response, he said.

Westlake plans to keep an eye on the spot.

“I won’t chase them off. I’ll go over and deal with it,” she said. “They’ll be arrested. I don’t think we need any more warnings.”

, DataTimes