brookfieldnow.com
      
Rummage MapseHarmony
weather

68°

Cloudy | 7MPH

NEWSROOM * CIRCULATION * ADVERTISING

Thursday

September 2010

2

Police role in school anti-drug policy clarified

Conversation was informational, not a recommendation, captain says

At least one Elmbrook School Board member has expressed support for a proposed anti-drug policy based on an endorsement by the City of Brookfield Police Department - but that endorsement may have been misconstrued.

When Superintendent Matt Gibson presented the proposed policy changes to board members last week, he said he sought advice from a police sergeant about which types of drug-like substances should be banned. Gibson said the sergeant recommended banning products containing ephedrine, which apparently would include the pseudoephedrine found in some iterations of the nasal decongestant Sudafed and the allergy medicine Claritin-D.

"The police sergeant suggested that we mention ephedrine as a common ingredient," Gibson told the board. "That, he said, if he were writing the policy, he would try to eliminate that from within schools, and that's in a lot of over-the-counter (medicines)."

But police Capt. Jim Adlam said while a sergeant did have a conversation with Gibson, no suggestions were made and the department has no official position on the proposed policy changes.

"We made no recommendations whatsoever," Adlam said. "None of us have seen the policy."

Gibson did not return calls from a reporter seeking comment, but a member of his staff said he was out of the office until Wednesday, which was after NOW's deadlines.

Chief Daniel Tushaus would not name the sergeant involved, nor make him available for an interview. Tushaus said he would like the issue to remain between his department and Gibson.

Police backing cited by member

At last week's meeting, board member Jean Lambert said the Police Department's recommendation gave her confidence in the policy.

Adlam said this perceived endorsement worried him.

"Our department has not seen the policy," he said. "We did not supply input to this policy."

Lambert did not return calls from a reporter seeking comment.

Adlam said the conversation between Gibson and the sergeant was "very short" and strictly informational. During the six minute phone call, the sergeant "looked up a statute regarding drugs, but did not provide input for the policy.

"The sergeant said he certainly would not feel comfortable making any recommendations," Adlam said.

Gibson was 'reaching out' to police

Christy Foy, Elmbrook's on-staff legal counsel, said she helped Gibson write the proposed policy changes. Foy said she knew Gibson called to consult with police about the matter but did not know any details about the conversation.

"Matt told me he did call the Brookfield Police Department to get some clarification to amend this policy," Foy said. "All I know is that there were certain definitions in that policy that seemed like they could use clarification, so Matt was reaching out to them for some suggestions."

Adlam said the district would need to go through the department's command staff to seek this type of policy input.

"We don't set school policy," Adlam said. "If they want our department to review something, it should really go through the chief's office."

When the Police Department fields a call seeking legal advice, Adlam said, staff members can only find and read applicable statutes.

NEXT STEP

WHAT: The Policy & Legislative Committee will discuss changes to the district's code of conduct policy.

WHERE: Elmbrook Central Administrative Offices, 13780 Hope St., Brookfield

WHEN: 5:30 p.m. Aug. 27

MORE INFO: elmbrookschools.org

Post a comment

We encourage your comments but will strive to remove discussion that contains personal attacks, racial slurs, profanity or other inappropriate material as outlined in our guidelines. We post-moderate comments on most content, but may choose to pre-moderate some comments so please be patient if you don't see yours appear right way. We also ask for your help by reporting comments you think are inappropriate.

Please login or register to post a comment.

Logged in as: Characters remaining: 2000
discussion guidelines | terms of use | privacy policy
Post Your Comment

Suburban News Roundup

E-mail Newsletter

Your link to the biggest stories in the suburbs delivered Thursday mornings.


Enter your e-mail address above and click "Sign Up Now!" to begin receiving your e-mail newsletter
Get the Newsletter!

Login or Register to manage all your newsletter preferences.
Tools
TEXT SIZE
THIS WEEK NOW

Check here each week for the latest police news, our views, restaurant reviews, real estate transactions and upcoming events.

Police report | Police notes

Opinion, featuring Phil's Poison Pen

Area restaurant reviews

Search for the latest homes bought and sold

Community Calendar of upcoming events

PHOTO GALLERIES

Milwaukee Marketplace

Find it Fast. Find it Local.
Price
to
SEARCH:
tickets.jsonline.com
Spotlight on Brookfield
Sky's the Limit Sky's the Limit
NOW sports writer Tom "Sky" Skibosh gives his take on the prep sports scene:
 
EBHS Unleashed EBHS Unleashed
The Elmbrook Human Society shares animal tales:
 
Every School Every Week Every School Every Week
Learn what's going on in Brookfield's public and private schools.
 
Gas Watch Gas Watch
Find out where the cheapest gas is being sold in Brookfield.
 
Family Watchdog Family Watchdog
Use the interactive map to see where sex offenders live and work in Brookfield.
 
Presidential campaign contributions Presidential campaign contributions
Find out how much your neighbors are giving to the candidates.

Data Warehouse: More searchable databases

 

Spotlight on Waukesha County

The Fur (& Feather!) Flyer The Fur (& Feather!) Flyer
The Humane Animal Welfare Society describes its efforts:  

 

 Close to Home
Lorayne Ritt spotlights Waukesha County's nonprofit community: Spell-down for literacy (Sept. 2) | See who attended

advertisement

Looking for a used car, a new job or a place to live? Search our interactive online classified ads.

Community Ads: Jobs | Cars | Homes
Rentals | Personals | More

JSOnline Ads: Jobs | Cars | Homes
Rentals | Personals | More