SAN JOSE
– The mother of a 17-year-old boy charged with at least one
felony for his part in a prank death threat on a Gilroy High School
teacher said it is fair that police ask her to repay the cost of
the police response.
SAN JOSE – The mother of a 17-year-old boy charged with at least one felony for his part in a prank death threat on a Gilroy High School teacher said it is fair that police ask her to repay the cost of the police response.
But that doesn’t change the fact that she still doesn’t have the money, she added.
“It’s fair, but financially, I can’t afford to pay it,” the mother said Wednesday after her son’s arraignment in juvenile court. “I think they should give the kids a job so they could pay it, not (the parents).”
Police responded to the threat as if it was a bloody rampage similar to that at Colorado’s Columbine High School in 1999.
Gilroy police administrators are adding up the cost of Friday’s three-hour GHS lockdown and investigation, which involved more than 30 police officers, a California Highway Patrol helicopter from Napa and a CHP airplane from Paso Robles. Assistant Gilroy Police Chief Lanny Brown said police will seek compensation for staff who were on duty at the time as well as those called in.
Police do not normally seek repayment for their duties, Brown said, but the costs in this case were so great that police decided restitution was appropriate.
“We want to send a very powerful message that this is not acceptable,” Brown said Tuesday.
If the students’ parents cannot pay, Brown added, Gilroy police would consider filing a civil suit to get liens on any property they might own.
The arrested boy’s family rents their house.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office will not seek restitution for the five on-duty officers it sent to the scene, Lt. Dale Unger said Wednesday.
“We can understand why Gilroy would want to, though,” Unger said.
The stepfather of the girl who police say called in the threat said he is not worried about having to pay restitution.
“If it comes to that … she can do community service or something like that,” he said. “It’d probably be good for her to be doing some work.”
Peter Crowley covers public safety for The Dispatch. You can reach him at pc******@gi************.com or at 847-7216.
