RICHFIELD, Minnesota — A case in Richfield in March was treated by police as an attempted abduction of two crossing guard students. But the Richfield Police Department raised several questions in their reports about why school administrators didn't have the same urgency.
It happened outside the Richfield STEM Elementary School, and according to police reports, officers didn't start investigating until two days later when the dad of one of the kids called them, upset because, in his words, "The school wasn't doing anything."
At 2 p.m., class is dismissed at Richfield STEM Elementary and student crossing guards help people across the street safely.
But on Monday, March 21, two crossing guards feared for their own safety, according to a police report, after the girls say an older man stopped his car, offered them ice cream to get into his car, then began yelling at them when they backed away.
Surveillance footage from the school shows the car pulling up to the intersection where the crossing guards stood, idling at the stop sign for about 30 seconds, then pulling away.
The police report notes, "In checking call history at the school, no staff members attempted to contact RPD to make police aware of the incident immediately following or the day after the incident."
"At the moment I was notified, police were notified," said Principal Amy Winter.
Winter told KARE 11 that she did call the non-emergency police number as soon as she learned about the incident, but she says she wasn't told right away.
The police report says the girls immediately told the supervisor in charge of the crossing guards. He told police, "The students looked very shaken up."
Yet, the staffer said he "didn't process that something really happened until later in the day."
Police got a search warrant for the school's surveillance video but didn't receive it until two weeks later. Even so, they found who they believe was the driver — a man whose vehicle and physical features matched the video and the students' descriptions.
The man denied anything happened — and was not charged.
When reached by KARE 11's Lou Raguse via phone, the man said he never said anything to the children.
Despite one of the student's father telling police, "No one from the school was doing anything about it," Winter told KARE 11 she talked with crossing guards and the girls' families, but did not send a note to all parents.
When asked, "Do you think this is something that you think other families that go here would be interested to know that this happened?"
Winter answered, "I know that's definitively a discussion that's being had, making changes moving forward concerning that."
Following the KARE 11 interview, Winter sent all parents a message that said:
Dear RSTEM Families,
At RSTEM, we strive to be respectful, responsible and safe. When incidents occur, we follow district protocols and work to ensure student safety.
A few weeks ago, after school, an unknown driver spoke to two of our students and tried to get them to get into his car. The students immediately left the situation and contacted after school staff.
I contacted the police the next morning. We talked with the families involved, as well as all the student safety patrol members and RSTEM supervisory staff. District and school leadership were also contacted to ensure staff at all buildings were aware and could provide added supervision during arrival and dismissal.
Today I was interviewed by KARE11 regarding this incident. One of the questions they asked about was not notifying our families at the time. I want to assure you that we have reviewed our procedures since the incident and regret not notifying families in a timely manner. We are committing to timely notification in the future regarding incidents of student safety.
At RSTEM, we are a very close-knit community, so when something like this happens, we are all impacted. When it comes to our children, we all - families, staff and the community - want to do everything we can to protect them.
We appreciate your ongoing partnership and support.
Sincerely
Principal Winter
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