Students were not compliant

The Sept. 21 news analysis, “Bodycam footage of incident at Durango HS shows students compliant as they protested,” of the high school student confrontation said the bodycam footage showed students “fully compliant ... consistently.” Yet the report shows they weren’t.

I was a police officer. People who resist complying with the instructions and orders of police officers, or resist arrest, is where most of these problems accrue, and where it becomes most dangerous for the person resisting, the public, and for the police officer.

The article states the officer instructed the students to keep walking. Many didn’t, with one saying he “didn’t have to,” and another saying “No,” and not moving. This is not being “fully compliant” with the police officer’s instructions.

This sort of action becomes a security concern for officers, especially when a firearm is mentioned. They must find why the students refused his orders while still detaining the one he has who was not complying and using foul language.

The story mentions that students became more aggressive and moved in on the officer. When the officer attempted to detain one, the student resisted arrest and struggled with the officer, requiring him to place the student on the ground to control him — while all the students, ordered to leave, continued moving in on the officer.

The story says, “The students attempted to calm the situation,” by yelling at the officer to release the kid he had in custody. That’s not an “attempt to calm.” A journalist should know this.

Jerry Sturdivant, Las Vegas