Father sounding off about HISD after son made clown threat
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A father whose son is being held in juvenile detention after allegedly making a clown threat to an HISD school is upset at the district for several reasons.
Curtis Dockery admits his son made a mistake, but he's not happy with the school or the district.
Houston teen arrested for making clown threat
The trouble started October 3, when administrators at Attucks Middle School learned of a threat made on social media that included a picture of a clown, two teachers and the principal. Prosecutors say the post included a reference to shooting up the school.
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The young man who made the post said he deleted it after a few minutes and, according to his father, the 14-year-old was told by school officials if he admitted to making the post he would not get in trouble.
Dockery says once his son admitted his involvement, the teen spent several hours in isolation and then was sent to juvenile detention, where 10 days later, he still remains today.
Dockery said, "They did not have a guardian or a parent present while they questioned him and you cannot do that. You aren't supposed to do that with a juvenile. And the thing about it is the principal knows my number, has my personal number, I live maybe a mile from the school."
Dockery also says his son was in custody seven hours before he was called by the district. He thinks the incident could have been handled without an arrest.
Dockery and his supporters say schools have to take threats seriously but that administrators should not arrest kids for making what amounts to a teenage mistake.
Community leader Rev. James Nash said, "What they can do with this young man is ruin his future, and that happens too much to our young black Americans."
HISD says federal law prohibits them from speaking with us about any details of the incident.
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