Outrage after Arizona cops TASERED and arrested three parents after they tried to force their way into locked-down elementary school to protect their kids after armed man was seen trying to enter campus

• Three parents were arrested after an incident with police after the parents attempted to get into Thompson Ranch Elementary School in El Mirage, Arizona
• Police say the parents were ‘confrontational’ and ‘forcefully pushing on the officers’ 
• Parents expressed frustration following the school’s lockdown indicating they wanted to enter the building to protect their children on Friday morning
• The event comes three months following an incident in Uvalde, Texas, where parents argued with police as a gunman was inside Robb Elementary School
• A man with a handgun ‘unsuccessfully attempted to gain access’ to the school, police said, before the man fled from the scene

Three Arizona parents were arrested following their attempts to enter a locked-down elementary school and protect their children after reports that an armed man was seen trying to enter the building on Friday morning.

Officers in El Mirage, Arizona, used a Taser gun to subdue two parents helping a third parent whose handgun fell to the ground as he was being taken into custody outside Thompson Ranch Elementary School, a police report said.

One of the two parents was taken to a local hospital to treat Taser injuries. 

At the time of the confrontation between parents and police, officers had confirmed that there was no longer a threat, a ‘suspicious package’ had been removed and determined to be free of explosives, and police were working to reunite parents with their children, Lt. Jimmy Chavez said in a statement.

The incident has sparked outrage from other parents, who have called for police to drop any charges they might face. 

‘You’d have to kill me to stop me from trying to get to my kids if I thought someone was in their school with a weapon. NO CHARGES FOR THE PARENTS!!!’ Brittany Loveless wrote on Facebook. 

The parents tried to enter the school while it was still on lockdown, and their attempted entry while ‘forcefully pushing on the officers trying to get on campus’ violated law enforcement and school procedures, Chavez added.

Officers in El Mirage, Arizona, used a Taser gun on three parents they say tried to force entry into Thompson Ranch Elementary School

One of two parents subdued by police was taken to a local hospital to treat Taser injuries, Lt. Jimmy Chavez said

At the time of the confrontation between parents and police, authorities said, officials were already working to reunite parents with their children

The parents tried to enter the school while it was still on lockdown, and their attempted entry while ‘forcefully pushing on the officers trying to get on campus,’ Chavez said

The incident comes three months after parents in Uvalde, Texas, confronted police outside Robb Elementary School as a gunman was inside. Heavy criticism ensued as authorities at the scene failed to confront the gunman, who ultimately killed 19 children and two teachers, for over an hour. 

El Mirage police said parents came to the school’s campus before students and teachers could be evacuated.

‘They were physically attempting to get into campus, and they were getting into physical altercations with our officers,’ Chavez added. 

Darlene Gonzales told NBC News that she arrived at Thompson Ranch with her oldest son to pick up her daughter, who had texted her that the school was in lockdown.

Thompson Ranch Elementary School is located in El Mirage, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix with a population of just under 36,000

Darlene Gonzales said she arrived at the school 30 minutes before the confrontation and was receiving text messages from her youngest daughter, who was inside the school

Gonzales says her older son, whom she brought along, was grabbed by police after they noticed he had a handgun in his pocket. Two parents attempted to assist in his release

She arrived at the school and was told where to park and wait across the street by police. 

‘We got there, met up with other parents and by this time, parents were starting to show up little by little,’ she said.

‘So, we get there, nobody can cross, no parents were crossing the street, we were waiting and scared.’

After 20 to 30 minutes, Gonzales said she and other parents heard an announcement through the school’s PA system indicating the lockdown had ended without any present threat.

‘At that time, parents started saying let’s go to the school,’ Gonzales continued. ‘We’re all together, everybody started crossing to the school.

‘We got there and no officers were telling us to leave.’

As parents were told to head toward the school’s library, Gonzales said tensions began to rise. One officer approached her son, who was carrying a handgun in his pocket, and grabbed him.

While two parents tried to assist Gonzales’ son, whose handgun fell to the ground in the altercation with police, she was thrown to the ground.

‘I got thrown,’ she said. ‘I felt like I lifted off the ground and when I fell I hit my head and I bounced up and then the rest of my body, I blacked out for a very short amount of time.’

Gonzales says her son’s handgun was dropped during the altercation with police, and that she was subsequently thrown to the ground 

After the three parents were arrested, locals took to social media to criticize the response by the El Mirage Police Department

A man who appeared to have a handgun did ‘unsuccessfully attempt to gain access the campus via an exterior door,’ a school district spokesperson said

After arriving at the school, Gonzales said she and other parents heard an announcement through the school’s PA system indicating the lockdown had ended without any present threat

Chavez said it is illegal to have possession of a firearm on a school campus. 

El Mirage police chief Paul Marzocca responded to concerns of police involvement via a post on Facebook.

‘We had very concerned parents respond and as the school was secured and tried to get into the building while it was on lockdown,’ Marzocca said.

‘Some even jumping walls. Fights and arguments even started between parents.’

‘Officers from everywhere responded. I learned a suspect had pushed my officer in the chest with force and during the assault a handgun was found on them.’

‘Two other people tried to protect this person from being arrested and were also arrested. 

‘Just because one may not agree with a law doesn’t give them a right to disobey whatever laws they don’t agree with.’ 

In response to some Facebook comments calling out the El Mirage police drawing comparisons to Uvalde police, Marzocca said that ‘what happened in Texas is foreign to what law enforcement in Arizona learn.’

El Mirage police chief Paul Marzocca said ‘very concerned parents respond and as the school was secured and tried to get into the building while it was on lockdown’

‘I learned a subject had pushed my officer in the chest with force and during the assault a handgun was found on them,’ Marzocca’s statement reads 

El Mirage Police Department’s recounting of events says the man who was initially seen attempting to enter the school fled the scene. He was later captured and charges are pending

Police were alerted to the school after witnesses say they saw a armed man entering the building at 10:30 a.m. Friday morning. Those accounts were determined to be ‘unsubstantiated,’ police said.

A man who appeared to have a handgun did ‘unsuccessfully attempt to gain access the campus via an exterior door,’ said Renee Ryon, a spokesperson for Dysart Unified School District.

‘The campus immediately went into lockdown and the individual fled, never having gained access to the building,’ she said.

That same man who triggered the lockdown was later located by police that afternoon.

A follow-up police statement said that charges are pending following an evaluation of the man by mental health professionals.

Thompson Ranch resumed all school activities Monday morning. 

Source: Read Full Article