Clovis schools react to calls

CLOVIS — Whether it comes by a school alert or a child’s text, a school lockdown is a message a parent never wants to receive.

Since Oct. 19, Clovis Municipal Schools has had to initiate five of them throughout their various campuses. Four of the lockdowns were lifted in 30 minutes or less, the fifth was lifted after nearly two hours and the district reported no injuries from any of the incidents.

Clovis Police Capt. Roman Romero said of the five incidents between Oct. 19 and Wednesday, one did not include a citable or arrestable criminal action, and the other four incidents were related to one person.

A 31-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday on a misdemeanor charge of interference with staff, public officials or the general public. She was arraigned Friday in Curry County Magistrate Court and released from the Curry County Adult Detention Center on an appearance bond. The woman requested a public defender, and was ordered to return to court for a Nov. 23 hearing and stay 400 yards from Marshall Middle School in the interim. She could not be reached for comment.

According to a criminal complaint filed Thursday in the court:

• About 15 minutes apart Wednesday, Marshall Middle School (8:41 a.m.) and Clovis High School Freshman Academy (8:56 a.m.) received a phone call from the woman, who claimed a person was going to come to the school to shoot and stab children. Officers were dispatched to each school “to ensure the safety to the students and staff” while officers sought to locate the caller. The schools each entered “secure and teach” mode, and resumed normal activity about half an hour later.

• At 8:58 a.m., dispatch received a call from the police department lobby from the woman. Officers met in the lobby with her, and she told them she believed somebody was going to kill her children and “that’s why I called the three schools.” It was discovered later Sandia Elementary received a call but did not contact law enforcement.

• Officers asked the woman if she had any communications regarding such a threat to her children, and she replied, “They can talk to me all day inside my head,” before pulling out her phone. She added “the whole town talks about it” and “they have the audio at my work.” An incident report from the CPD stated the woman may have some mental health issues "that she is not dealing with."

• The woman was arrested without further incident and booked into the Curry County Adult Detention Center. Attempts to find the person she alleged was going to kill her children were unsuccessful. The News is not naming the woman because it does not routinely name criminal suspects facing misdemeanor charges.

Prior to knowing the sources of the threats in the lockdowns, The News asked CMS administrators about the district’s levels of lockdowns, what initiates them and what they consist of.

Each one is lifted by the same mechanism, Superintendent Renee Russ told The News via email: “At such times as school and district leadership, in partnership with emergency responders if appropriate, have investigated and determined that there is no immediate threat and the prompting circumstances are addressed, the emergency protocols will be lifted.”

As directed by the Public Education Department, CMS this year replaced its previous model of three lockdown levels with the following five designations:

• Secure and Teach: Interior, exterior doors are secured, students remain in one location, and class is conducted as usual. Previous lockdowns allowed for movement within the building but the new process requires everyone to remain in a fixed location. This is Initiated to allow for an investigation or substantiation of information received regarding a possible danger. It is similar to what was previously called a Level 1 lockdown, except movement within the building is more limited.

• Lockdown: Interior, exterior doors are secured, movement in the building is ceased and occupants are secured in classrooms. The information received and/or threat is credible and/or imminent and requires more extensive investigation.

• Shelter in Place: Campus occupants move to an area designated for Shelter in Place Initiated by severe circumstances outside the building, for example, weather, tornado or possible hazardous materials released outdoors.

• On Campus Evacuation: Campus occupants are moved to a designated assembly area on campus. Initiated by a danger or hazard within the building, for example: fire, flood, hazardous materials, or a structural failure within the building.

• Off Campus Evacuation: Campus occupants are moved to a designated assembly area off campus. Initiated by any incident where the campus, to include buildings and grounds, are unsafe for students and/or staff.

In each case, the district does send out a notification to families that usually contains limited information but is intended to advise families of what measures are taking place out of an abundance of caution.

As far as what constitutes a threat, Russ said in the email, “Any time staff learn that a person or persons has communicated an intent to do harm to another person or persons, that is considered a threat. All threats are investigated to determine their credibility and scope, regardless of who relays, receives or witnesses the communication.”

School officials must also be vigilant about social media threats, while making sure they’re relevant. In 2018, a Clovis teen made a Snapchat post of himself holding a rifle with the caption, “(Expletive) CHS I’m going out with a bang. Don’t go to school tmrw.” The teen received a seven-day juvenile sentence and a year of supervised probation and was ordered to do community service and write a letter of apology to the school and community. Meanwhile, the post circulated through social media for months, and due to its ambiguity various CHS campuses across the United States and Canada took precautions ranging from extra security to class cancellation. Social media threats are held to the same threshold as any other threat, Russ said.

In response to an inquiry from The News about CPD protocol when it receives a threat report, Romero said department actions are determined by each threat’s circumstances and declined to share specific tactics and procedures.