Last week, an Administration of Justice teacher, who is also a reserve officer for the Sand City Police Department and mayor pro tem of the City of Seaside, fired what he assumed was an unloaded handgun in a classroom, as chronicled here, here, and here. In fact, “The teacher had just told the class that he wanted to make sure his gun wasn't loaded, when the gun fired, according to Gonzales (a student’s father)… The teacher was about to use the gun for a demonstration about how to disarm someone, according to Gonzales.”
Now:
A video surfaced Friday that, according to attorneys, shows Seaside High School students posing in Dennis Alexander's classroom with their teacher's gun.
A video obtained by KSBW shows that Tuesday was not the first time the teacher used his Sand City Police Department service weapon to give teaching demonstrations at Seaside High.
An attorney representing one of the three injured students provided KSBW with images showing an unidentified boy pointing Alexander's gun at a camera, and playing with it at his desk.
Alexander was not authorized to have a gun on campus at all, according to Monterey Peninsula Unified School District spokeswoman Marci McFadden.
"We do have information that, in past years, he passed his firearm around for children to take photographs with," attorney Connell Dunnion of Dunnion Law firm said.
Despite:
Firearms are prohibited on school properties by California law, and a statement by Seaside High School says that Monterey Peninsula Unified School District's Board of Education policy "prohibits any person other than authorized law enforcement or security personnel from possessing weapons."
Reserve police officers in California are required to complete at least 400 hours of field training, including learning how to properly handle a firearm.
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Superintendent Daniel Diffenbaugh said Alexander was not authorized by the school district to carry a firearm, according to the local paper.
Nevertheless, this scofflaw is likely to get away with endangering his students, who have been speaking out in his defense.
I’m worried that kids who take a class in Administration of Justice stick up for a “law and order” type who disobeys the law.