Boston Mayor-Elect Michelle Wu Still Against Police in Schools After Principal Beaten Unconscious

Boston Mayor-elect Michelle Wu remains opposed to police in schools after a student allegedly beat a public school principal unconscious this week.

Wu spoke with reporters on Thursday regarding the alleged attack a student carried out on Patricia Lampron, principal at Henderson K-12 Inclusion School in Dorchester, which left Lampron unconscious for four minutes, according to an account from a school safety services officer, as reported by Breitbart News, citing the Boston Herald.

Wu said Thursday the incident was “an incredibly horrific, tragic situation” and added that she was reaching out to “all the parties involved,” the Boston Herald reports.

“It points to the need for us to really be investing in our young people, in our school systems, in the supports that are necessary,” Wu, who was elected mayor Tuesday, stated, according to the Herald. 

 “All throughout the system we need — particularly in this moment coming out of the pandemic when there’s been such stress, anxiety, trauma on our families — to be putting more resources into social and emotional supports, into the wraparound services that our schools should be providing,” the mayor-elect added. 

Wu was asked to elaborate if that means there should be a police presence in the public school system, to which she replied, “No,” according to the Herald. 

Under Wu’s public safety policy priorities listed on her official campaign website, the policy priority states, “We also need to elevate youth voices and let young people lead the way in reimagining public safety in their own communities.”

AP Photo/Matt Slocum

“That starts with meeting youth demands to remove police from Boston Public Schools and ensuring all students have access to trauma services, counselors, and other wrap-around services,” the policy priority goes on to read. 

Last spring, Wu released campaign plans, which were critical of safety measures at Boston Public Schools, according to the Boston Herald.

“Metal detectors have been found to negatively impact students’ sense of safety at school, while school resource officers (SROs) disproportionately criminalize Black and Latinx students, perpetuating the school-to-prison pipeline,” the plans read, per the Herald. “We must immediately move to dismantle these punitive measures and reinvest in restorative justice practices employed by trusted, adult school community members.”

The alleged attack took place on Wednesday when the female student reportedly beat Lampron unconscious. The Boston Herald detailed a police report regarding the incident:

The Boston Police officer arriving at the scene from the other side of the school where he’d been doing a street-crossing assignment found Lampron unconscious on the ground, per the report, and the girl being held back by two “safety services officers,” or the district’s quasi-police department.

The cop cuffed the teen as she was talking about hitting the principal, according to the report.

A staffer at the school reportedly informed the officer that Lampron had approached the 16-year-old girl and told her to leave the campus, as the school day had ended, Breitbart News reported. The student reportedly told the principal, “Stop following me.” 

The staffer informed police the girl started “throwing closed fisted strikes” at the principal’s head, according to the Herald. Lampron dropped to the ground before two safety services officers apprehended the student, the outlet reports.

Lampron was “completely knocked out” for “at least” four minutes, a school safety services officer told police, according to the Boston Herald.

Lampron was taken to the hospital, and the student faces multiple counts of assault and battery. 

Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins intends to prosecute the student, according to the Boston Herald. 

“This frightening attack comes amid a rise in violence and aggression against educators and school employees,” Rollins said. “We have heard the stories of violence and threats against educators as they work to provide safe and healthy schools for children to learn and thrive.”