Broward County grabs shovel, digs deeper

The Broward County Sheriff’s office and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School seem determined to cost taxpayers millions in legal settlements.

I found this report today:

BREAKING: Anti-Gun Control Parkland Survivor Kyle Kashuv Questioned By School Security For Visiting Gun Range With His Father
Near the end of third period, my teacher got a call from the office saying I need to go down and see a Mr. Greenleaf. I didn’t know Mr. Greenleaf, but it turned out that he was an armed school resource officer. I went down and found him, and he escorted me to his office. Then a second security officer walked in and sat behind me. Both began questioning me intensely. First, they began berating my tweet, although neither of them had read it; then they began aggressively asking questions about who I went to the range with, whose gun we used, about my father, etc. They were incredibly condescending and rude.

Then a third officer from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office walked in, and began asking me the same questions again. At that point, I asked whether I could record the interview. They said no. I asked if I had done anything wrong. Again, they answered no. I asked why I was there. One said, “Don’t get snappy with me, do you not remember what happened here a few months ago?”

They continued to question me aggressively, though they could cite nothing I had done wrong. They kept calling me “the pro-Second Amendment kid.” I was shocked and honestly, scared. It definitely felt like they were attempting to intimidate me.

This is only one side of the story. As yet, I haven’t seen responses from the school or sheriff.

On the one hand, the authorities might well say that they are acting in a new abundance of caution in the aftermath of their previous massive collection of failures. That could even be reasonable.

They’ll still have to explain in court why a person who assaulted people and damaged property at school, who put guns to people’s heads and threatened to kill them, who vandalized property, who killed animals maliciously, who credibly threatened to shoot up his school — et cetera and so forth — warranted less of an investigation than a pro-rights kid who appears on national TV, meets with Senators, goes to the White House, and has never threatened anyone.

Working with Kashuv’s account, we have a kid who posted nonthreatening accounts of learning shoot with his father and an instructor, with pro-Second Amendment statements (i.e.- political speech outside of school). His principal tells him some students didn’t like his posts, but that he hadn’t done anything wrong.

Apparently Kashuv was considered so nonthreatening that he continued on to multiple classes without incident.

Until after noon, when he was sent to see “Mr. Greenleaf.”


Aside: Kashuv refers to Greenleaf a an “armed school resource officer.” Earlier reports identify a “Kevin Greenleaf” as a “civilian security monitor” and a “security specialist at the high school”. If he is a civilian and armed on school property, isn’t that a violation of Florida Statute 790.06? If he is a law enforcement officer — a sheriff’s school resource officer — why do multiple reports refer to him otherwise?


Kashuv says he met Greenleaf who, rather than speaking to him informally where they met, specifically took him to an office, where they were joined by a “second security officer walked in and sat behind me.”

If I was surrounded by armed people, I’d consider myself to be in custody. Oh, wait; I did consider myself in custody. And that wasn’t even in a private office.

Then a third officer from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office walked in, and began asking me the same questions again.

“Third officer” reinforces the concept of custody. And it raises the question of whether a civilian “security monitor” or “security specialist” presented himself as a law enforcement officer. I would very much like to see Greenleaf’s status clarified.

I’ve mentioned “custody” a few times for a good reason. A person in custody must be read his Miranda rights and allowed to stop talking without legal representation. A minor has additional protections because the courts assume that a minor can reasonably believe he is in custody under conditions that would not necessarily apply to an adult.

Kyle Kashuv was sixteen at the time of the shooting, and is still a legal minor. He was taken to a private office, apparently by an armed person, and questioned there by two, and then three, armed people whom Kashuv identified as “officers.” I am not a lawyer, but that sounds a lot like a situation in which he would believe himself to be in “custody.”

So Kashuv’s account raises questions that need answering by the school and sheriff’s office:

  • If the questioners said Kashuv had done nothing wrong, was this harassment purely for his out-of-school free political speech in support of Second Amendment rights?
  • Is Greenleaf a civilian unlawfully armed in a school?
  • If Greenleaf is a civilian, is he presenting himself in a way that would cause a reasonable person — especially a minor — to believe he is a law enforcement officer; that is, impersonating an officer?
  • Was Kashuv in custody and questioned without Miranda rights to parental or legal representation?

If Greenleaf is an armed civilian in the school, I expect we’ll see the school throw him under the bus. “Oh, we didn’t know he was carrying a gun in school. We’ll fire him immediately.” To cover their own asses, the sheriff’s office may have to arrest him.

I’m looking forward to statements from the BCoward Sheriff’s Office and the school.


Carl is an unpaid TZP volunteer. If you found this post useful, please consider dropping something in his tip jar. He could use the money, what with truck repairs and bills.

paypal_btn_donateCC_LG


Facebooktwitterredditpinteresttumblrmail

4 thoughts on “Broward County grabs shovel, digs deeper”

  1. (Moderated: The Zelman Partisans do not advocate or support unlawful initiation of force. We certainly do not approve of attacking family members of those with whom we disagree. We will not be a platform for you to do this.)

  2. I smell a lawsuit. With good reason, by the way. When the school officers were questioning him, they might have been within their rights trying ascertain whether or not this kid warranted further concern on the part of the school, especially since the shooting that happened there just a few months ago.
    The problem started when they brought the police in on the issue, without allowing him to have a lawyer present. If they were questioning him, and it turned out that he admitted that he was thinking of committing a crime, they could not arrest him, based upon that evidence, they could not use any evidence obtained that he told them about during that interview.

    If his family does choose to sue, I hope it is for a lot, and that the media picks it up and runs with it. The pro gun side can use the publicity. They say that any publicity is good publicity, positive or negative.

    1. Yep. Some web searches indicate that Greenleaf is civilian private security. Interestingly, one hit indicates his license has expired; but that might not mean much if he renewed in a different city, or upgraded his license (FL has several variants). I found a legal opinion letter from the state that suggests that FL law generally would forbid him being armed, but that there is a potential loophole not yet tested in the courts. So that’s worth watching. TL;DR: just arguing the little details (licensed or not, concealed or not, did the school district issue the right letter, Miranda, etc.) could pretty much bankrupt Broward County if Kashuv’s parents hire the right attorney.

      Civilian or not, they stepped on their… genitals when they brought in cops for the questioning. Case law all the way up to the Supreme Court generally says thou shalt not grill minors without representation. And admitting that they had no probably cause to suspect wrongdoing will simply add commas and zeroes to the settlement offer.

Leave a Reply to Jim Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *