School cop busts student

[attach]865[/attach]A student at Northern Secondary has been charged with intent to assault a police officer after a dispute over the student’s identity escalated into a videotaped confrontation.

The student, who is 16 and can’t be identified, has been suspended while school administrators deliberate on whether an expulsion or school transfer is a suitable option.

The Oct. 2 incident began in the school’s hallways when Northern’s designated school resource officer, Ali Moosvi, demanded to see the teen’s identification card. Northern Secondary students are required to carry the card on a lanyard at all times. The student allegedly refused to identify himself and began taunting the officer, who then arrested him.

A grainy cell phone video shot by one of the dozens of witnesses captures the student being pressed against the wall while the officer attempts to handcuff him. The accused waves his arms and asks repeatedly what he is being charged with. The student also yells that he is in pain.

The video, now posted on Youtube, has been viewed more than 35,000 times.

Trustee Josh Matlow says the student was acting the victim to impress his peers, and the true story wasn’t captured by the lens.

“It is quite clear that there was an element that was being played up to the camera,” said Matlow, adding the student taunted the police officer, provoking the incident.

The student ran from the officer when asked for his identification, said Constable Wendy Drummond, leading the officer to question whether the student was trespassing on school property.

“A much as he did identify himself, it was not a situation where the officer was satisfied,” said Drummond, a public information officer.
Matlow characterizes the incident as a rare and unfortunate one. “It seems to me there was a student behaving with very poor judgment.”

Both Drummond and Matlow contend Moosvi showed restraint and did his best to control an escalating situation.

However, student body reaction is not as unified.

“He did resist arrest,” says 16-year-old Scaon Blascio. “He should have just shown his ID and got on his way.”

George Morales, 16, agrees the situation could have been avoided if the student had shown his identification card.

“It was the kid’s fault, he called the cop a ‘pig’, and then the cop arrested him,” said Morales.

But 15-year-old Kara Mikell thinks the officer was out of line.

“I don’t think cops should be in schools if they’re here to put kids in handcuffs and walk them to the office.”

Student Adam Rosenbaum says the arrest goes against what he’s learning in his law class at Northern.

“They teach us that there is something called the habeas corpus which means (police) have to have a reason to detain anyone and have a legitimate reason to press charges. I don’t think the officer had that.”

None of the students who spoke with the Town Crier were eyewitnesses to the arrest, but all said they had viewed the video online.

According to the Toronto District School Board, the purpose of the resource officer initiative is to build healthy and trusting relationships between the student body and the police. The program has placed more than 50 officers in schools throughout Toronto since 2008. Officer Moosvi has been stationed at Northern Secondary for less than two months.

Matlow says the school board is considering the student’s options.

“There will be a decision made with the family and the board with the best interests of the student and the school in consideration.”