SEYMOUR — The Board of Education approved measures this week to beef up security at Seymour High School’s home football games.
The move was prompted following a fight that broke out between two female Seymour High School students at the end of a recent Wildcats versus Wilby High School home game at DeBarber Field.
“There was an altercation at one of the home football games between a couple of students from our school,” said Seymour Schools’ Director of Security Richard Kearns. “The police department handled the situation and dispersed the small crowd that was leaving the game.”
Kearns said the two students knew each other, and the fight did not involve any opposing fans from Wilby High school.
“The incident was spontaneous as the crowd was leaving the venue,” Kearns added. “The girls were not on good terms with each other, and when they saw each other, things boiled over.”
Police Chief Paul Satkowski said he could not release the names of the students, as they were minors, and the matter was since referred to the Juvenile Review Board, following police issuing them juvenile summons. Juvenile judicial proceedings are not open to the public.
The fight prompted Kearns and Athletic Director/Assistant Principal Ernie DiStasi to recommend additional security on an “as-needed basis,” which the school board unanimously voted in favor of during its Oct. 4 meeting.
SHS already has school security officers in place, and when the need arises, one or more of them would be called on to work extra security at a Wildcat home game, according to Kearns.
“There has been an increase in violence taking place at football games across the country and in areas around the state,” Kearns said. “To be proactive — after we met with members of the police department and our school resource officers — we decided to get ahead of it and make sure our games are a safe place for our students, staff and community to attend.”
SHS Principal James Freund said there has always been police officers on hand to work at the games, and adding a school security officer, does not eliminate the police, but rather provides another layer of security. Freund said the school security officer will assist with crowd control and monitoring of the crowd.
“We’re trying to be proactive so our kids and families can continue to enjoy the games without fear,” Freund told the board.
Kearns agreed.
“The addition of having school security officers assigned to work football games and after school events is simply an added layer of security and support for law enforcement to ensure the safety of students, staff and our community at our events,” Kearns said. “It’s better to have extra layers of protection in place if we have the resources to provide it, and our School Security Offices have a wealth of experience in law enforcement to provide that extra layer.”
