Task Force Targets School Violence

Sat., May 29, 1999

By Adam Lynn adaml@spokesman.com

Six hours after someone blew out windows at a South Hill school Friday, Spokane County officials announced the formation of a task force designed to head off school violence.

The task force is made up of school superintendents, law enforcement officers and mental health officials.

Task force officials spent the past year drafting a coordinated response plan that clearly defines each member’s role in helping to reduce violence in Spokane County schools, said Terry Munther, superintendent of Educational District 101.

“Students and educators deserve to work in a safe environment, and we want to do whatever we can in our power to ensure their safety,” Munther said.

The task force hopes to identify at-risk kids and intervene in their lives before they commit violence. The plan includes zero tolerance for threats or acts of violence made in or directed at schools.

“Early intervention and early recognition are the keys for Spokane County to prevent something like Littleton from happening here,” Sheriff Mark Sterk said, referring to the school shooting in Colorado last month that left 15 people dead.

Failing that, the hammer of justice will fall hard on perpetrators, county Prosecutor Steve Tucker said.

The prosecutor’s office has agreed to assign top priority to cases of school violence and file the maximum number of charges the evidence will support.

“We intend to use prosecution as a deterrent,” he said.

Jim Connelly, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said he saw the need more than a year ago for a coordinated response plan.

Connelly helped organize the task force that drafted the plan.

“I think it’s needed,” he said. “Now we’ve established a protocol if anything does happen.”

Federal law enforcement agencies, under the U.S. attorney’s supervision, can investigate and prosecute people who commit firearms violations.

Juveniles aren’t usually prosecuted in U.S. District Court, but federal authorities can prosecute adults who provide firearms or explosives to juveniles.

Connelly said he will mail copies of the response plan to other school districts throughout Eastern Washington and suggest those communities consider it as a model.

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